Editorial: Premier Peter Gutwein showing the right kind of leadership

EDITORIAL: Unprecedented times such as these can easily show even the most seasoned of politicians to be wanting. However, Tasmanians should be proud of what Premier Peter Gutwein has done.

AS American broadcasting legend Donald McGannon once said: “Leadership is an action, not a position.”

Unprecedented times such as these can easily show even the most seasoned of politicians to be wanting.

However, Tasmanians should be proud of what Premier Peter Gutwein has done — both to prevent the spread of COVID-19 throughout our Apple Isle and to buoy the state’s economy.

While other states are well and truly in throes of the crisis and residents are fearful of leaving their homes due to the fact the virus is being transmitted from person to person, Tasmania presently sits in the privileged position of not having witnessed this event.

And there is no denying this is due, in significant part, to the Premier’s early decision to introduce the country’s toughest border controls first.

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Certainly, this fact is no cause for complacency and the self-isolation measures we have in place are essential to prevent any undetected cases from spreading the infection. But it remains undeniable the Premier demonstrated true leadership by taking tough action in this instance. To use what is quickly becoming a cliche – it was Gutsy.

This week he moved to shut schools early so as to prepare them for distance education.

Yesterday’s announcement of the State Government’s stimulus package is yet another bold decision likely to yield positive outcomes.

A $1 billion package, $150 million for our health service to fight COVID-19, $50 million in interest-free loans for small businesses and waiving payroll and land taxes will no doubt lessen the harsh blow our economy has been dealt.

As Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce CEO Michael Bailey made clear — the government has pulled every leaver available to it to keep our economy ticking along.

The initiative has also shown real heart for those suddenly facing drastic changes to their circumstances with a pledge no customer will have their power cut as a result of missing a bill payment.

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Premier Peter Gutwein during one of his daily coronavirus updates. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

No doubt there are dark days ahead.

There will be very real anxieties among the many of us already in lockdown — which is nothing compared with those on the frontline — some of whom will be forced to separate from their families to prevent bringing this scourge home.

This said, the statement there has never been a better time to be a Tasmanian rings particularly true at present as we are yet to witness a major spread of the virus through our Island community.

In these historic times, it is worth remembering our island’s history, and one moment that has risen to prominence in the midst of this crisis is the fact Tasmania had one of the world’s lowest death rates during the Spanish flu that took thousands of lives across the globe in the wake of World War I.

Then — as now — the difficult call was made to close our island’s borders, and we all sincerely hope this will be a case of history repeating itself.

We are also looking forward to the party of the century when it’s finally safe to venture outside.