Premier Jeremy Rockliff reveals he battled depression while in opposition
The Tasmanian Premier has spoken candidly about one of the darkest times in his life, revealing he battled depression while still a relatively junior member of parliament. HIS STORY >
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Premier Jeremy Rockliff has revealed he battled depression during his time as deputy opposition leader, when he was criticised for being “not strong enough” in the role.
Appearing on the Get Frank podcast, hosted by SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY founder Mitch McPherson, Mr Rockliff opened up about a “really challenging time” in his life.
It was 2008 and he and then opposition leader Will Hodgman had been at the helm of the Liberal Party for two years.
“We went through a lot of criticism in our early leadership years in terms of being not strong enough or not this or not that,” Mr Rockliff, a former Lifeline counsellor, said.
“Particularly me as deputy leader because people thought at the time that deputy leaders had to be the tough guy … and be in the bear pit and being all aggressive and all those sorts of things, which I wasn’t. That’s not my natural inclination.
“But that’s what the commentary at the time said I should be.”
To compound the situation further, Mr Rockliff, who is today Tasmania’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Minister, said his second child, Lucy, had been born prematurely and it was “a very worrying time”.
“It was the first and only time, really, in my 20 years in politics that I felt for probably two or three months a real haze of not really knowing where I was,” he said.
“And if I think back, I must have been probably clinically depressed, I reckon. And it was a very difficult time for me.”
Then in his late-30s, Mr Rockliff said a “very trusted member of our staff” took him aside and “directed me to someone that I needed to talk to”.
“I spoke to a counsellor for, I reckon, half-an-hour,” he said. “And, you know what, I walked out of that room and I was right.”
“All I needed to do was really express how I feel and talk about the challenges.”
Mr Rockliff, now 52, also spoke of his aversion to public speaking, saying he gets “very nervous about that occasionally”.
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