Jeremy Rockliff has become the first Tasmanian Premier in history to be censured by the Parliament.
The Greens moved this censure motion to hold the Premier accountable for his failure to uphold the standards of integrity that the Parliament and the people of Tasmania expect.
That motion passed with the support of the Labor Opposition and five independents.
The legal fees scandal that has engulfed the government over these past weeks is of the Premier’s own making.
He has had so many opportunities to take action and do the right thing, but at every turn he has made things worse.
Even today he refuses to admit that two of his Ministers breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct, that they misled Parliament and refused to answer basic questions truthfully.
What we have seen from the Premier has been unacceptable, and through the Censure motion Parliament acknowledged that.
The only reason Tasmanians are now aware that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on ministers’ legal fees, about previously secret Supreme Court proceedings, and ministers lying to Parliament, is because of the work of this minority Parliament.
With this motion passing, the Premier has recorded an historic first in the worst possible way.
It sends a clear message to him of the Parliament’s expectations that integrity is measured in more than words, it’s demonstrated through actions.
This Censure motion is a caution to the Premier, from a healthy and functioning minority Parliament, to be forthwith attentive to the behaviour of his ministers in relation to their obligations under the Code of Conduct for Ministers.
The Greens and the wider Parliament will continue to work to get the full truth about the massive cover up of legal matters, and to ensure Premier Rockliff’s government delivers real reforms for integrity and transparency.
