Off course and on the nose, last Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff must do more than spin his way out of the doldrums

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff is attempting to reassure the state he is ‘back on track’.

After months of turmoil and drift, Australia’s last Liberal premier has finally taken steps to reassure a spooked business community and confused public that he’s getting “back on track”.

Jeremy Rockliff’s “reset” should have come a lot sooner.

Finally owning what everyone else had plainly seen for months, Rockliff conceded his government had been “knocked off course”. He noted that just “admitting it” had been difficult.

It shouldn’t have been. The evidence was painfully clear: political defections, branch mutinies, unrest and turnover among staff, falling polls, and a shape-shifting policy agenda.

So can Rockliff guide his team back on course? The premier, on his 21st anniversary as an MP, made the right noises – about getting back to “core values” and issues of relevance to everyday Tasmanians.

When he took the reins from Peter Gutwein in April 2022, ‘Rocky’ seemed a safe bet; a continuation of a proven formula for the Tasmanian Liberals – of a popular moderate heading a pragmatic government.

What went wrong? According to critics, some within his party, Rocky and some senior staff stopped listening and failed to be pragmatic or adaptive.

Warnings were ignored. Some say gatekeepers prevented them reaching the premier. Decisions were announced without consultation.

The problems were foreseeable. Rockliff’s social agenda was always going to cause concerns among conservatives. His flirting with forced council amalgamations was always going to make enemies in regional Liberal branches.

His expansion of the size of parliament was always going to antagonise (how many punters want more pollies?). A costly AFL stadium – whatever its merits – was always going to be a hard sell during tough times.

Forcing Tasmanians to pay higher power prices in pursuit of a project – Marinus Link – not yet financially proven, much less understood, was always a big call. Taking a once net-debt-free state deep into the red was always going to create concern.

Being health minister and premier was always likely to be overwhelming.

That’s not to say all of these things were necessarily bad. But each required careful management and explanation – a narrative to bring people along for the ride. Instead, they got people’s backs up – or left them scratching their heads.

Admitting a problem is the first step. Change must follow and – given the possibility of an early election – quickly, to repair a damaged Liberal brand.