Cassy O'Connor MP | Greens Leader
On behalf of the Tasmanian Greens, I wish Peter Gutwein all the best for life after politics.
Just three years after being elevated to the top job and a year after winning an early election, his announcement today will come as a shock to many Tasmanians, as it has to us.
While Peter Gutwein and I have had a mixed professional relationship, particularly since the border reopening, I do respect the work ethic he has demonstrated over a 20 year Parliamentary career.
I also believe Tasmanians owe Peter Gutwein a debt of gratitude for crossing the floor to fight for child safety soon after he first came in to Parliament, and last year, establishing the Commission of Inquiry in to child sexual abuse in institutional settings.
On the negative side of the ledger, he was too close to vested interests and too ready to do their bidding. On pokies, the border reopening and the privatization of wilderness, he invariably erred on the side of monied interests where there was money to be made.
He took Tasmanians to an election a year early with the slimmest justification.
He had the opportunity to ensure stronger environmental protections and real climate action for Tasmania, but didn’t use his political capital to do so.
That said, Peter Gutwein was a conviction politician and I admire that in colleagues.
After 20 years of hard slog and public service, I hope the next 20 years are filled with laughter, love and fulfillment for Tasmania’s 46th Premier.