Opinion: Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman is going out in a chariot not a political coffin

Will Hodgman’s former chief of staff BRAD STANSFIELD was taken by surprise when his ex-boss quit. This is why.

IT’S rare that Tasmanian politics surprises me but I’m genuinely shocked about Premier Will Hodgman’s resignation.

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Even after more than 13 years as Leader of the Liberal Party and six as Premier he remained at the top of his game and arguably was very well positioned to win again in 2022.

But few leaders have the opportunity to go out in a chariot rather than their own political coffin, and in hindsight perhaps it’s not surprising after all.

Premier Will Hodgman, left, Jeremy Rockliff, then chief of staff Brad Stansfield and Michael Ferguson. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE.

Will was a consensus-style leader, more in the Bob Hawke mould than the Paul Keating style that some in the media and commentariat longed for.

He was considered and cautious, and would always seek to take people with him – the PLP, the Cabinet, and the community.

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His political opponents wrongly viewed this cautiousness as a point of weakness, but it was in fact his greatest strength and it meant that politically, he rarely put a foot wrong.

As a leader, Will provided stability and certainty at a time when it was a commodity which was in rare and high demand.

As a politician, Will understood the importance of grass-roots politics more than anybody else I have met.

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It’s been said that the best way to understand what’s going on in the community is to ask the backbench what they are hearing; in Will’s case, all you had to do was ask the Premier.

He understood that to make a difference you first have to win, and keep winning, and was successfully able to marry his political principles with a winning pragmatism in a way few have succeeded.

Premier Will Hodgman’s political career in pictures

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As a person, Will loves Tasmania but he always puts his family above all else.

Rarely could he be persuaded to stay overnight at say Smithton or St Helens following an evening function, he’d usually insist on going home so he could see the kids at breakfast, even if it meant arriving home at 2am.

Family of Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman (from left) Lilly, wife Nicky and son Will as he addresses the media and announces that he will resign as Premier. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

Will Hodgman was the right leader for the times, and not even his strongest detractors could argue that he hasn’t left Tasmania in better shape than when he became Premier in 2014.

He will be remembered in the same breath as Bacon, Gray and Reece as one of Tasmania’s greatest ever Premiers.

After nearly 14 years at the top his departure leaves not just a gaping chasm in the Liberal Party but also in Tasmanian politics.

It is likely to usher in a period of change within Government ranks, and will come as relief to the Labor Party.

The challenge now to the Liberal Party is to successfully transition to a new leader, while continuing to offer the stability that was the hallmark of the Hodgman Era.

Brad Stansfield was Chief of Staff to Will Hodgman from 2010-2018.