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Corruption Allegations a Proven Vote Winner

Thursday, 12th January, 2006

If the state's political history is anything to go by then Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon has pulled off an electoral master stroke by being accused of conflicts of interest in accepting the hospitality of Crown Casino when on a visit to the last Melbourne Cup. The careers of two of his Labor Party predecessors both benefited enormously from actually being charged with corruption.

Sir Robert Cosgrove was a humble Mr who had served as Premier for eight years before he stepped down for Edward Brooker in 1947 to face corruption and bribery charges. He was back in the Premier's office the next year after being found not guilty and continued in that office for the another decade.

He still has the title of Tasmania 's longest serving leader and I recall seeing him regularly on a Saturday night at the dinner dance at Wrest Point Hotel with his wife Dame Gertrude and, after her death, with one of his daughters. My father told me that the old fellow never paid for these evenings out as a token of appreciation from the management for help given to Hobart businessman and hotelier Arthur Drysdale in establishing the hotel on the site of what used to be the home of one of Tasmania 's wealthiest women, Mrs G. Minette Lucas, of Cressy.

Dr Reginald John David (Spot) Turnbull was the other Labor politician who did not suffer electorally from allegations of corruption. Dr Spot faced court in 1959 over allegations involving an application for a casino licence and was forced out as the Treasurer in a Labor Government. Like Cosgrove before him he beat the charges but he was not readmitted to the Cabinet. He stood instead at the election of 2nd May 1959 as an independent and polled as many votes on his own as the whole of the Labor Party team in the seven member electorate of Bass. When being a backbencher failed to appeal Dr Turnbull turned his sights to the Senate where he romped in as an independent and served until 1974.

Paul Lennon will surely keep these precedents in mind when deciding when to go to the polls. All he has to wait for is the people of his state to actually know that serious allegations have been made against him.

Back to the Tasmanian Elections page or 2006 Tasmanian Election.