The Premier has this week shown the profound depth of his misunderstanding on the subject of Ralphs Bay, as well as his contempt for community concerns and the Cabinet process.

Cornered by the Liberals’ statement into publicly backing the development, and its entre to the Resource Planning and Development Commission, the Premier set a disturbing precedent and pre-empted Cabinet discussion and decision.

Mr Lennon said it was telling that Liberal Leader Rene Hidding had pushed out his deputy to make the announcement, raising questions about a split in the Opposition over the $200 million Ralph’s Bay housing project.

It is a perverse irony that the Premier should question why a state Liberal member for Franklin would speak out on his constituents’ behalf.  In the face of considerable pressure from the Walker lobby, Will Hodgman has been listening, straight-talking and approachable since the campaign to save Ralphs Bay began.  Nick McKim has kept the pressure up in Parliament and the public domain since Walker Corporation ‘arrived’ in September 2003.

Our Labor member for Franklin, the Premier, wrote to us just once … in March last year.  Since, he has not responded to our requests for a meeting, nor replied to correspondence with any respect for his constituents’ concerns.

It is a fact that the Lennon Cabinet, not the State Liberals, are divided on how best to respond to this volatile electoral issue.  That’s why Cabinet is in a state of apparent paralysis on just WHAT to do about it.  Paul Lennon’s pre-emptive strike for Walker Corp would appear to have taken the POSS decision out of Cabinet’s hands.  We can only hope the debate still takes place, and that it is as robust as it should be.

On Monday 30 August, in the face of a political consensus backing coastline and community across three parties, including sections of his own, the Premier left himself wide open to rebuttal.

“Today’s announcement is a clear demonstration that, given the chance, the Liberal Party would take Tasmania back 20 years,” he said.

“Those days were characterised by low investment, double-digit unemployment and an inability to fund core public services, all leading to the ultimate indignity when the Liberal government said the only way out for Tasmania was to sell our most precious public asset, the Hydro.

Rejected in NSW because they are so environmentally toxic and outdated, canal estates are a seventies’ design throwback, to a time when white shoes padded hungrily, unchecked across pristine bays and inlets.  It is this proposition for Ralphs Bay that would drag us back in time, not a more progressive philosophy from the State Opposition.

Not hardware and energy like the Hydro, no infrastructure to put a dollar value on, Ralphs Bay is precious too.  It is an asset to this community, environmentally, socially, aesthetically.  Just as it is, Ralphs Bay helps to keep our River Derwent healthy.  Our Bay is a precious natural asset.  So too say the State of the Derwent and State of the Environment Reports 2004.

The Premier asserted on Monday, “This is not about whether you support or oppose the Ralph’s Bay development at all; it’s about who should decide what is appropriate.”

But, Mr Lennon, isn’t politics about Leadership?  And, shouldn’t it be about keeping your promises, like the one you made re public opinion being weighed in any decision on whether to allow the Walker plan through to the formal planning system?  Or had you already decided, a long time ago?

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The Premier’s release can be found here.