The side of Premier Peter Gutwein you may have missed

The Tasmanian Premier left Australia shocked when he unexpectedly called time on this political career on Monday.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Peter Gutwein was probably better known to Australians as the man Scott Morrison allegedly called a “f***ing mendicant” – an old-fashioned term for a beggar.

The story goes that Mr Morrison, then Treasurer, was sidelined by Malcolm Turnbull during GST negotiations with Tasmania after he abused Mr Gutwein in an “expletive-laden tirade”.

Both Mr Morrison and Mr Gutwein denied the exchange ever took place, but it helped entrench Mr Gutwein’s reputation as the Tasmanian government head kicker.

Peter Gutwein and Scott Morrison pictured together years after their GST clash. Picture Chris Kidd

A relative latecomer to politics, Mr Gutwein joined the Liberal Party in 1995 before he took up a job in the office of Tasmanian cabinet minister Jocelyn Newman.

At age 37, he was elected to represent the northern Tasmanian seat of Bass.

He was quickly promoted to shadow cabinet but was sensationally dumped from the treasury portfolio in 2002 after he crossed the floor to back a Greens motion to establish an inquiry into child sex abuse.

It was a decision he said could have “completely derailed” his career.

At the time, the fiercely private Premier – a black belt taekwondo instructor who has a panther tattoo on his bicep – did not disclose why he crossed the floor.

But two decades later, amid a scandal in which government MPs were heard groaning after a question from a sexual abuse victim-survivor was aired in parliament, Mr Gutwein revealed he was also a victim.

Mr Gutwein being sworn in as the new premier at Government House in January 2020. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“When I was a young man, when I was 16, I was the victim of a sexual assault. It was by a former teacher,” he said.

It was an incident Mr Gutwein said he would never speak about again.

After a period on the opposition backbench, then Premier Will Hodgman appointed Mr Gutwein treasurer after the Liberals ended 16 years of Labor rule in the state.

The bad cop to his predecessor’s good cop, Mr Gutwein left many sceptical when he unexpectedly took over the state’s top job.

But over the course of the pandemic, Mr Gutwein’s decision making endeared himself to the Tasmanian people.

The longer it went on, the more the public embraced “papi G” – as he is known to his TikTok followers.

@papi_g

Just got my #COVID19#vaccine ! I urge all Tasmanians to get a free vaccine as soon as it is available to them. #getvaccinated#covidvaccine

♬ Black Panther (feat. Rafal) - Nebezao

Capitalising on his popularity, Mr Gutwein called an election a year early and led the Tasmanian Liberals to their third successive election victory.

But he was criticised for his handling of the Adam Brooks saga – the ex-MP who was elected to Braddon but subsequently resigned amid firearms charges and allegations he had used false identities on dating apps – and the decision to reopen the state’s borders.

In August 2021, Mr Gutwein was admitted to hospital after becoming unwell.

Mr Gutwein says he is retiring to spend more time with his family. Picture: Richard Jupe

He was released the next day and took several days off to recover from what was an undisclosed illness.

After two years of leading a state through the pandemic, Mr Gutwein said he had “nothing left in the tank to give” in a snap press conference on Monday.

He would be stepping down as premier – as soon as the Liberals elected his successor – and resigning as the member for Bass.

“Unless you can give 110 per cent to the role of premier, you should not be doing this job. I can no longer give 110 per cent,” he said.

Mr Gutwein said he now wanted to focus on his own family: “My wife and kids have just been outstanding in their support, but that period through Christmas completely drained me.”

The hunt is now on for the next premier, with Deputy Premier Jeremy Rockliff a frontrunner.