Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff Wants to Move Forward After Ministers' Resignations

The topic is about the State and Territory Government

It happened on Wednesday, 17 June 2026, at 6:58 am

Premier Jeremy Rockliff says the past few weeks were not good enough and he takes full responsibility for it

Two ministers left in just over two weeks

The last time this happened in Tasmania, the premier left soon after

But the Liberal government is in a different place now compared to 2022

The government is in a minority and depends on a powerful crossbench

Jane Howlett and Madeleine Ogilvie left the frontbench because Labor, the Greens, and independents wanted them to

They had to choose between leaving or being forced out, and they chose to leave

Tasmania's Racing Minister Jane Howlett resigned from cabinet due to personal and political attacks from opposition parties

Former deputy premier Michael Ferguson was forced out of cabinet over the Spirit of Tasmania ferry issue

There is a clear fact: the government might want to ignore the past few weeks, but Labor and the Greens only have 14 seats

Four more members of the crossbench are needed to remove any government MPs

How were they convinced that it was time for Ms Ogilvie and Ms Howlett to go?

Madeleine Ogilvie was the first to resign from the frontbench

Ms Ogilvie's problem was that her fellow politicians felt she had misled parliament over Supreme Court proceedings

Ms Howlett has never answered questions about court proceedings or explained hundreds of thousands of taxpayer-funded legal fees

The calls for her to go were growing, and when it came out that her office might have known about a breach of caretaker convention, the government maintained it didn't

Those calls became stronger, and a day later, she was gone

The government had a tough Question Time on Tuesday, and the two empty seats were reminders of the battle it lost

Jane Howlett's chair was empty during Question Time

Opposition parties and independents would argue that they held the ministers to account because the premier couldn't

But the government thinks the two resignations are enough to wipe the slate clean, which is not the case

The premier has accused the Labor party of playing 'political games'

When most of the chamber turns against a minister, that minister should not be dismissed easily

What has the government learned, and can it avoid the ire of parliament again?

There's a lot to be said about how the premier reacted to the ministers' forced resignations

While Mr Rockliff accepted Madeleine Ogilvie's resignation with sadness, he didn't back her statement

He didn't say he thinks she misled parliament, but he avoided answering the question and didn't defend her

Nor did he blame the opposition or the Greens for Ms Ogilvie's situation

Compare that with the strong defense he mounted for Jane Howlett

Jane Howlett took on some of Madeleine Ogilvie's portfolios, only to leave the frontbench herself

Mr Rockliff said Ms Howlett is the victim of an opposition with 'relentless personal and political' attacks

Just ignore the $405,000 in unexplained legal fees paid for by the taxpayer

The government knows it messed up, even if it's not outright condemning Ms Ogilvie's actions

Could it be that they are wary of an MP who knows all the cabinet's secrets?

The premier has announced plans to review legal indemnity laws and some issues surrounding the Integrity Commission

When it comes to Ms Howlett, the government won't learn any lessons because it doesn't admit there was a problem

Ms Howlett has long had a question mark over her head in the eyes of the opposition

That scrutiny arguably increased when she tried to shut down the greyhound racing industry

While others were talking about Ms Ogilvie, Labor was trying to drag Ms Howlett down with her

Racing Minister Jane Howlett used social media to share Tasracing's statement on TasInsure

Monday's parliamentary committee revelation proved the final nail in her coffin

But it was arguably not the clearest-cut example of wrongdoing

It's feasible that the advisor didn't know Tasracing intended to publicly support a Liberal Party policy during an election

Wires are crossed all the time, or maybe that's too generous

Only the people involved can really know what happened

Was it fair for her to go down for that? People will have different opinions

It's unlikely that had that been the only issue, Labor and the Greens would have found their 18 votes

But enough of the parliament was convinced Ms Howlett had to go, and so they made it happen

'The last few weeks have not been good enough'

Amid all the mess, the government argues that it's getting on with the job and focusing on what Tasmanians care about

Most Tasmanians wouldn't care about legal fees, misleading parliament, or what someone said in a parliamentary committee

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has provided answers to questions about former minister Madeleine Ogilvie's legal fees matter

Tasmanians are worried about health, housing, the cost of living, and the Socceroos

Yes, these issues distract the parliament and the government from core problems

But it's also the government's fault that there are issues in the first place

Ultimately, this is about honesty, and Tasmanians want that from their politicians

In 2022, Ms Howlett was the second cabinet minister to resign before premier Peter Gutwein left

This time, she's unlikely to be the herald of a new premier, but Mr Rockliff should heed the warning

The opposition parties and crossbench may be hesitant to risk another election, but they can still make his life hard

Lucky for him, a motion to install Labor as the government doesn't seem to be on the table soon

But Mr Rockliff may face a censure motion for how he handled the Ms Ogilvie situation

Something he may take on the chin

It won't end there unless the government puts into action what it preaches: accountability, transparency, and trustworthiness

Reflecting on a long few weeks, the premier said it was 'time to move forward'

'By any measure, the last few weeks have not been good enough,' he posted on social media

'And I put my hand up and take full responsibility for that'

The parliament has spoken, will Mr Rockliff listen?

More Tasmania news

BREAKING

Topic: Retirement Planning

Topic: Tourism and Leisure Industry

Topic: Weather Forecasts

It happened on Wednesday, 17 June 2026, at 6:58 am

It happened on Wednesday, 17 June 2026, at 9:23 am

Promotion