Sack the Treasurer, support his government

The worrying attention spans of party leaders

Studies suggest one in five kids will get bored of their latest toy within a day.

Kids have a short attention span and get bored easily. The same can be said of Jacqui Lambie and her foray into Tasmanian state politics.

Despite being asked by her party to butt out, last week she called for the resignation of Treasurer Michael Ferguson and today blasted the whole Liberal government for continuing with the stadium.

Good on her. The stadium’s ridiculous.

(Suppose it doesn’t matter that during the election campaign her candidates backed the stadium, before the party decided to scrub all mention of it from their social media).

(And suppose it doesn’t matter either that after the election she reportedly demanded that the Liberals scrap the stadium in exchange for the JLN’s support to form government — which they didn’t do, and which the JLN still did do.)

Jacqui Lambie will demand the Liberals agree to boost transparency in Tasmania’s political system, and rethink plans for a $715 million AFL stadium in Hobart, in exchange for a deal to return Premier Jeremy Rockliff to power.

Meanwhile her state MPs are meant to be working with Ferguson and the minority Liberal government to pass the budget next month.

Lambie seems to have gotten bored with her party and just wants to slug it out alone, leaving her elected officials in a contradictory and embarrassing position.

She’s out loudly saying the Treasurer must resign, almost daring her state MPs to back her or back the deal they made — with her blessing — to provide confidence in the Liberal Party Government.

In an award-winning study in understatement, JLN Bass MP Rebekah Pentland went on the radio this morning to say Lambie’s comments “are not very helpful”. 

Lambie can’t take her elected JLN members to the shops and get them replaced. Or expect them to remain holding the party line — when, clearly, there isn’t one.