In his first question time as Premier, Peter Gutwein could apparently not give an honest answer about his knowledge of the unlawful WorkSafe prohibition notice slapped on the Bob Brown Foundation a fortnight ago.
All we wanted to know is whether the Attorney General or Minister for Resources had given Mr Gutwein the heads up about the unlawful attempt to crack down on peaceful protest, and whether the move had his backing.
The evasiveness of his answer points to Peter Gutwein being up to his neck in this anti-democratic fiasco.
The statement from Ministers Archer and Barnett is as clear as Tarkine air – the Liberal Government referred the Bob Brown Foundation to WorkSafe.
When pressed on the specific matter of when he found out about WorkSafe’s decision to issue the unlawful prohibition notice, the Premier’s answer was nothing more than a deliberate smokescreen.
Peter Gutwein saying he was advised of the WorkSafe decision after the decision had been made is an answer meaningless to the point of nonsense.
If he wants Tasmanians to have any trust in their new Premier, he should own up and provide full details about his involvement in this matter.
Adults admit when they’ve made mistakes, as do real statesmen.
Under the Liberals, Tasmanians have become accustomed to the smell of corrupted process leaking out of the halls of Parliament, but unfortunately it seems this stench will only get richer with Peter Gutwein as Premier.
