OPINION | Denison MP is Missing in Action, and Tasmania Deserves Better

By u/dyljam, former Prime Minister and Member for Denison

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Remember the (by-)election?

I do. I caused it and then I narrowly lost the ensuing by-election to u/Superpacman04 from the National Party. I gave a firm commitment that I would work with the newly-elected MP for the betterment of the state of Tasmania. And since then, I have retired from political life. I have refrained from making political comment and have gone back to work in the private sector.

Until now.

Because what Tasmania is experiencing is a joke. My successor, despite promising the world, has been completely out of action. His party, the National Party, is a bumbling joke, and Australia's southern-most state is being completely looked-over at a federal level, because our representative in Canberra has gone AWOL.

" I am running to represent you" he said at his final campaign rally. "It’s time for a new, fresh voice for Denison."

Heh.

Tasmania, the state I love so much, is something of an oddity in Australian politics. We're the smallest state, and we're the only state (or Territory represented in Parliament) that is not part of the Australian mainland. Unfortunately, despite our incredible strengths and our importance to the Australian economy, we seem to be pretty easily overlooked. That is why it is imperative that we elect a Member of Parliament who will fight for our interests in Canberra. Someone who will lobby for more funding for Tasmanian infrastructure, schools and hospitals. Someone who will be a leader in our community. A person who Tasmanian can look to in times of hardship and crisis.

I've searched Hansard, and I can have found two instances (and, please, correct me if I am wrong) of the Member for Denison participating in debate in Parliament. And 'participate' is a stretch.

This is not acceptable. This is shameful.

Tasmania deserves better.

In the time succeeding the by-election, I've had numerous members of the community - some who I'd interacted with in my time in Parliament, others who I've never spoken with before - asking whether I would consider throwing my hat into the ring for the next election. My reply has always been one of uncertainty.

I'm passionate about representing my state and my people in Canberra. It has been my passion for some years. That's ultimately why I recontested the previous by-election, and I admit the result was razor-edge thin.

For now though, I'm focused on representing my state in my life as a private citizen. But as the old Chinese proverb says,

'Consider the past...'