Few have achieved as much as Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman

Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman arrives at his press conference where he announced his resignation. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Will Hodgman’s decision to quit was a genuine shock, not only to the public and press but also to his colleagues, who learned of it only hours beforehand.

 It is a most unusual political exit: no knives in the back, no rumours or speculation, no undermining. Instead, Tasmanians have seen a popular, successful premier leave on his own terms and for his own reasons.

Premier since 2014, MP since 2002 and Liberal leader since 2006 (no, that’s not a typo), Hodgman considered his future over the Christmas break and in the weeks since.

While not exactly resigning “for family reasons”, as the cliche goes, he made it clear an 18-year political career — and almost 14 years as leader — had taken its toll on his wife, Nicky, and three kids, William, James and Lily.

He is still young enough — 51 in April — to have a career after politics. Having come to the conclusion that he did not want to contest the election due in 2022, he had several choices. One option was to stay until closer to the election, extending his legacy and superannuation. However, that would have given his replacement little chance to establish a rapport.

 Mid-term in a second-term government is a better time than most to pass the baton. The problem for the Liberals is that Hodgman is not an easy man to replace. His deputy, Jeremy Rockliff, like Hodgman a relative moderate, is senior and experienced but so mild-mannered he struggles for cut-through.

 Treasurer Peter Gutwein is the third man in what Hodgman called a “triumvirate” of senior Liberals, with himself. He also has the experience but lacks on-camera charisma and can come across as a combative hardliner.

 Few premiers have achieved as much as Hodgman. He led the party out of the wilderness, following a disastrous 2006 election result where the Liberals failed to improve their paltry seven MPs out of 25.

 By the election of 2014, the party had rebuilt its stocks, assisted by an unpopular Labor-Greens alliance, and Hodgman led the Liberals to government for the first time in 16 years, and a majority at that. Then in 2018, Hodgman led the party to another majority government; it was only the second time the feat had been achieved in its history.

The state’s economy has turned around under Hodgman’s leadership; critics will say by chance, but this is to deny a strong focus on stable government, job creation and economic growth.

Hodgman has championed the state’s tourism industry, overseeing an unprecedented boom, pushed Tasmania’s relationship with China, hosting President Xi Jinping in 2014, and increased exports.

He has had failures. The health system remains one of the country’s worst-performing in the country. Ministers have been found to be up to no good — or not up to much. There was a damaging energy crisis in 2016, and an embarrassing secret plan to unwind gun laws, exposed by this newspaper on the eve of the 2018 election.

However, Hodgman, part of a dynasty spanning more than a century, is a decent man who will be remembered for leading his party out of the wilderness and his state out of the doldrums.