Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff announces the resignation of Attorney-General Elise Archer. Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson will act as Attorney-General.
Friday September 29 2023 Picture by Phillip Biggs
Friday September 29 2023 Picture by Phillip Biggs
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Good afternoon. This morning I met with the Attorney-General, Elisa Archer MP. I requested
00:12 and received her resignation from Cabinet. Yesterday I was made aware of information
00:20 in relation to remarks Ms Archer had made outside what had already been recorded. Those
00:28 remarks are unacceptable by any standard and unequivocally fall short of expectations
00:39 for a Minister of the Crown. As a consequence of this, Ms Archer is no longer a member of
00:50 my Cabinet. As I said this week, if culture is to change in this state, it requires leadership
01:03 and accountability. And that starts from the top. I cannot accept culture of belittling
01:18 and a culture whereby people are not valued and respected for the work that they do and
01:33 indeed the people that they are. Pending permanent arrangements being announced in coming days,
01:45 Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson will be acting Attorney-General and I will undertake
01:52 the remaining portfolio responsibilities. Ms Archer has been a long-standing member of our
02:01 team. Ms Archer was the first female Speaker in the House of Assembly and Ms Archer has served
02:12 in the Cabinet since 2017. Ms Archer has enacted significant reforms in the Tasmanian Parliament
02:24 and I thank Ms Archer for her service.
02:28 QUESTION
02:33 A senior member of your Government, how do you think these actions and allegations reflect on
02:40 the overall integrity of your Government, Premier?
02:43 PREMIER NICHOLS I expect a very high standard
02:48 and I lead by example when it comes to a high standard in terms of culture and people being
02:59 valued within the workplace but also a very strict ministerial code of conduct. I said this week
03:10 that culture and changing culture in Tasmania is absolutely paramount and if culture in this state
03:25 is to change it requires leadership and accountability and I intend, of course,
03:32 demonstrate that and that accountability starts at the top with myself as Premier.
03:40 QUESTION What specifically is going to change?
03:43 QUESTION What did you make of Ms Archer's comment about herself and others?
03:54 And do you feel like your firm position on this is in some way a direct retribution of that?
04:03 PREMIER NICHOLS No.
04:04 Is your Government falling apart, Premier? No. No. We have, I'm very fortunate,
04:13 to have a very capable team and a depth of talent within our ministry as well,
04:21 within our parliamentary Liberal Party and in coming days I will, of course, be announcing a
04:28 new Minister in Government and look forward to that and I'll be having conversations with my
04:35 colleagues over the course of the next few days.
04:37 QUESTION Apologies, Kurt. Retribution was probably the wrong word for me. I probably meant response.
04:44 Do you feel like it is that requesting the standards that you expect to see out of Cabinet
04:52 Ministers is a show of strength in your leadership?
04:55 PREMIER NICHOLS Can I say very clearly, Josh,
05:00 the comments as reported today from Ms Archer and the comments about me are absolutely nothing to do
05:12 with my decision today. I, of course, had a conversation with Ms Archer this morning.
05:25 I asked for her resignation and I received her resignation.
05:30 QUESTION Police Archer says your Government refuses to support strong women. Is that fair?
05:35 PREMIER NICHOLS I reject that utterly. We have some very
05:40 strong and capable women, all of them, within my parliamentary Liberal Party. I value and respect
05:50 each and every one of them. The work I do as a member of Parliament, the work, of course, they do
05:58 for - in the ministry as well, and I would utterly reject that. I do utterly reject that.
06:08 QUESTION Obviously we saw the danger of predicting recounts a couple of months ago
06:15 in the Greens. Are you expecting that Simon Baracus will fill that position?
06:20 PREMIER NICHOLS I understand that Ms Archer is also
06:27 resigning as a member of Parliament and as a member of the Clerk. That will require a recount
06:35 and that will be in the hands, of course, already of the Tasmanian people who cast their vote
06:42 in the Electorate of Clarke in 2021 and the Electoral Commission, of course,
06:48 will determine the next member for Clarke.
06:52 QUESTION Last couple of questions.
06:53 QUESTION It's one thing to ask a Minister to resign,
06:56 but what specific steps is your Government going to take to improve overall culture within
07:02 your Government and to boost standards and integrity?
07:07 PREMIER NICHOLS Well, I have had a number of
07:10 conversations with my Cabinet and my team about respecting the workplace and the very high
07:20 standards that I demand of not only people as a member of Parliament, but particularly as
07:28 Ministers of the Crown. We have had a motion of respect report delivered by the Anti-Discrimination
07:37 Commissioner, Equal Opportunity Commissioner, Sarah Bolt, accepted those recommendations
07:44 which are being enacted now and I am committed to ensuring that strong accountability,
07:55 respect within the workplace and respect of each other as human beings, irrespective of
08:02 the positions that we hold in and across Government.
08:07 QUESTION Also, are you concerned by the possibility of
08:12 Labor moving a no-confidence motion when Parliament returns? And,
08:19 you know, I guess are you concerned by the possibility of Will you be pro-roving Parliament
08:24 at all given the Sergeant's resignation?
08:26 PREMIER NICHOLS Look, the Labor Party have been
08:31 and will continue to be a destabilising force within the Tasmanian Parliament. That is not
08:39 in the interests of the Tasmanian people. That is up to them. I'll be seeking advice
08:45 with respect to the timeline of an election of a new member of Parliament
08:51 and will make my decision accordingly.
08:53 QUESTION Thanks guys. Thanks so much for your time.
08:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]