Premier denies links to woman’s sacking over her stance on abortion services

PREMIER Will Hodgman has denied he or anyone in his Government lobbied Cricket Tasmania to sack an outspoken critic of his abortion policy.

PREMIER Will Hodgman has denied he or anyone in his Government lobbied Cricket Tasmania to sack an outspoken critic of his abortion policy.

An internet troll who was employed by Mr Hodgman’s office tried to have Angela Williamson sacked before the March state election, but he has denied he or his ministers tried to have her dismissed after that.

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On Tuesday, Mr Hodgman was firm that his inquiries had cleared the Government of anything to do with her sacking.

Premier Will Hodgman.

“I will make it very clear that no one in my Government, me or Minister Ferguson, have ever sought to influence the employment decisions of Cricket Tasmania or Cricket Australia with respect to Ms Williamson in any way whatsoever,” he said.

“It’s a matter for Fair Work Australia to determine all the issues before it in this matter between the parties and we do need to respect that process.”

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Mr Hodgman said there was nothing untoward about Cricket Tasmania being in contact with Michael Ferguson, who is the Health Minister. Mr Ferguson on Monday said “the Government” hadn’t acted improperly.

“The Government hasn’t discussed any private material, and that is anything that wasn’t already in the public domain,” he said.

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Angela Williamson. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Ms Williamson said she hoped the Government wasn’t involved.

“I was told that conversations with the Government did take place and there were exchanges of views about me, of my medical background and on my ability to deliver the job and that definitely contributed to the outcome,” she said.

“I’m not going to say that they were like ‘sack her’ because I don’t know that, but what I have been told is that conversations took place.

“That was the bit that probably pushed me into the biggest downward spiral because then to me it was so much more than a social media issue, it was political — it was my political opinion.”