VZCZCXRO3470
RR RUEHPT
DE RUEHBN #0048/01 1480624
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 270624Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL MELBOURNE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4713
INFO RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3401
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 1970
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 1424

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MELBOURNE 000048 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR AS
SUBJECT: UNPOPULAR TASMANIAN PREMIER RESIGNS, SURPRISING COLLEAGUES 
AND PUBLIC ALIKE 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Tasmania's beleaguered Premier Paul Lennon resigned 
suddenly May 26 in favor of his deputy, David Bartlett.  Dogged by 
allegations of corruption over his four years as premier, the 
abrasive Lennon claimed he left on his terms believing it was time 
for a generational change.  Particularly damaging to Lennon was his 
unswerving defense of the proposed environmentally and financially 
dubious Gunns pulp mill, whose approval he fast-tracked through 
parliament.  The young and urbane Bartlett, who is an information 
technology (IT) expert, announced immediately that the project would 
stand or fall on whether Gunns achieved other necessary approvals 
and finance.  The new premier has until May 2010 to turn around the 
Labor Party's fortunes in Tasmania.  END SUMMARY. 
 
LENNON FALLS ON HIS SWORD 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Dogged by the whiff of scandal aggravated by his abrasive, 
non-inclusive management style, Tasmanian Premier Paul Anthony 
Lennon resigned suddenly on May 26, surprising colleagues and the 
public alike.  The 52-year-old Lennon (born October 8, 1955), whose 
popularity numbers trailed behind those of his party, claimed that 
he was leaving on his terms, believing it was time for a 
generational change.  Although the premier's name had been 
associated with a number of shady dealings in the course of his 
four-year administration, his unpopular fast-tracking of the 
proposed Gunns pulp mill in the north of the state was a significant 
factor in his undoing.  Lennon's insistence on the project, despite 
environmental concerns and doubts over its financial viability, led 
to a media campaign spotlighting probity in government. 
 
A NEW GENERATION TAKES OVER 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Succeeding Lennon is his 40-year-old Deputy Premier, David 
John Bartlett (born January 19, 1968).  One of his first acts was to 
appoint 35-year-old Larissa "Lara" Tahireh Giddings (born November 
14, 1972) as Deputy Premier.  Unaligned within the Tasmanian Labor 
Party, Bartlett selected a political ally of Lennon's from the 
Party's minority Right Faction to be his number two.  Both 
individuals are International Visitor Program grantees.  They will 
retain their demanding portfolios of education and health, 
respectively. 
 
WASTING NO TIME BURYING MISTAKES OF THE PAST 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Tasmania's new premier has until May 22, 2010 to hold an 
election and restore faith in government accountability after the 
scandals that marked the Lennon years.  In the press conference 
announcing his assuming charge, Bartlett did not rule out replacing 
key staff within his cabinet, but made no immediate changes to 
Lennon's team because the state budget is due this week.  There is 
some speculation that the new premier will reshuffle his cabinet in 
early 2009. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Bartlett also pledged to take a "deeply considered approach 
based on data, information and knowledge" on forest policy and 
old-growth logging, an issue that raised the hackles of the state's 
powerful Green Party.  He also reaffirmed the Tasmanian Government's 
commitment to consider establishing an ethics commission.  Later, in 
an interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Lateline 
program, Bartlett distanced himself from Lennon, noting that the 
Gunns pulp mill would have to survive on its own merits, with the 
proponent and financiers deciding its future.  He said he had never 
met Gunns executive chairman John Gay, with whom Lennon was 
reportedly closely associated. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) An old-school labor leader and union organizer, Lennon 
allegedly played fast and loose with ethics and had a seeming blind 
spot to the appearance of impropriety.  Some observers attribute 
this character flaw to his humble origins and wish for acceptance by 
"the high end of town."  One analyst quipped to us that it was a 
widespread perception in Tasmania that, "the fastest way to get a 
'yes' out of Paul was to take him out on your yacht and show him a 
good time."  When elected Premier, Bartlett had only been Deputy 
Premier for six weeks and in parliament four years.  His two Deputy 
Premier predecessors, Brian Green and Steve Kons, resigned from 
office with clouds of corruption hanging over their heads.  Thus, 
"the last man standing" was how one observer described Bartlett, 
whose record in the education portfolio was one of "change for 
change's sake."  While not handed the most auspicious beginning, the 
urbane Bartlett, who has an IT background, has time and intelligence 
on his side to turn around Labor's fortunes in Tasmania. 
 
MELBOURNE 00000048  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) This message was cleared with Embassy Canberra. 
IRVING