Bryan Green quits politics, Rebecca White new Tasmanian Labor leader
Updated
In the same week he said he was the best person to lead Tasmanian Labor, Bryan Green has quit politics, replaced as leader by Rebecca White.
Just days after asserting he was best placed to take Labor to the 2018 election, Mr Green held a joint press conference with Ms White to confirm he was not only stepping down as leader but quitting politics altogether.
"This last three years have been a fantastic experience for me," he said.
"Everyone knows that after the 2014 election and 16 years in government the Labor party lost badly.
"I was given the opportunity to draw the Labor party together after what were tumultuous times.
"The Labor Party is absolutely united, we have taken and shown the government to be not up to the job.
"This period, from the point of view of the Labor Party, has been vitally important to show Tasmanians are stable."
He said Ms White was elected by her Labor colleagues "unopposed".
Ms White thanked Mr Green for "his outstanding leadership that he's shown over the last three years".
"It's a responsibility I don't take lightly. I know its going to be an important and big year for us here in Tasmania," she said.
"That's why I'm incredibly excited to be standing here talking to you about how the Labor party can provide the best alternative for Tasmania and provide the best government for Tasmania."
Premier Will Hodgman described Mr Green's resignation as unexpected.
"He gave it his all, and needless to say I wish his successor all the best as well," he said.
"No matter what they do, how they change the leader, it won't change the fact that they have no plan, they've got no policies, and what's happened here is another example of a Labor Party being governed by unions.
"Labor is disunited, this is the third leader in three years, in striking contrast to what we have to offer."
Mr Hodgman said he had no intention of going to the polls before the scheduled state election in March 2018.
Tumultuous week for Labor
The ABC revealed Mr Green told his Labor colleagues at a party meeting after a marathon sitting of Parliament which ended at 3:00am today.
Mr Green's leadership had been the subject of intense speculation after party insiders began exerting pressure for former leader Lara Giddings to leave her seat to allow unionist and former MP David O'Byrne to return to politics and make a possible tilt at the leadership.
On Tuesday, Mr Green said he was the man for the job, dismissing suggestions Mr O'Byrne would be a better choice.
"Of course not, because I am the leader of the party that's actually drawn the party together at this time," he said.
"David is not in the chamber, he is not a member of the parliamentary Labor Party, so how can it be that he can be a better leader than me?"
Mr Green, who has been trailing Premier Will Hodgman in polls, has consistently said he would be leader at the 2018 Tasmanian election.
In recent times, he had been targeted by the government after it emerged he bought into a Tasmanian fishing tourism venture, with advertising for the business saying guests would be personally "greeted by Bryan" - leading to questions over his commitment to the job.
Who is Bryan Green?
Mr Green, 59, grew up in the industrial north-west town of Burnie where he worked for 19 years at the paper mill and later became an organiser for the Australian Manufacturers Workers Union (AMWU).
He was elected as the Member for Braddon in 1998 and became the Minister for Primary Industries, Water and Environment in 2002.
In 2006, the then deputy-premier's career hit a wall when he was charged over a controversial monopoly deal reached between the Tasmanian government and the builders' accreditation body, the Tasmanian Compliance Corporation (TCC).
After two trials both ended in hung juries, the charges against Mr Green were dropped.
When David Bartlett resigned as Labor premier in 2011, Mr Green became deputy leader to Lara Giddings.
He stepped up from deputy leader to become Opposition Leader after Will Hodgman's Liberal Party won a landslide victory against the ALP in the 2014 state election.
Mr Green consistently rated poorly in polls of approval ratings and as preferred premier, but had spent the past week affirming his intention to lead the party to the next state election.
Who is Rebecca White?
Ms White, 34, was elected to the seat of Lyons in 2010, usurping long-sitting member David Llewellyn in a campaign that focused on renewal.
The current shadow minister for health, mental health and primary industries and water grew up on a farm in south-east Tasmania and went to the local public school at Sorell, before completing a combined commerce and arts degree at the University of Tasmania.
She worked for the Labor member for Denison, Duncan Kerr, before her election in 2010.
In her inaugural speech to Parliament, Ms White emphasised her commitment to Tasmania's rural communities and provision of services to regional areas.
Polling in 2015 and 2016 showed Ms White was ahead of Mr Green as preferred leader of the Tasmanian Labor Party.
Ms White and her fiance Rod Dann had a baby girl, Mia, in November.
Topics: political-parties, government-and-politics, hobart-7000
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