Tasmanian Liberal Michael Ferguson resigns from frontbench before no-confidence motion is tabled in Parliament

Michael Ferguson has been a fixture in Tasmanian politics for almost two decades and with a burning ambition to become premier, Michael Ferguson suddenly finds himself on the backbench for the first time in his state political career.

Facing a vote of no confidence over his handling of the Spirit of Tasmania saga, Ferguson opted on Monday afternoon to voluntarily move to the backbench before being forcibly placed there by a majority of MPs.

Long before he started counting numbers in parliament, Ferguson taught them to students as a high school teacher in northern Tasmania, where he taught maths, science and information technology.

A former Meander Valley councilor, Ferguson entered politics at the age of 30, when he defeated Michelle O’Byrne to win the seat of Bass at the 2004 federal election.

In a campaign piece, the Sydney Morning Herald called him a “tight young liberal,” telling a candidate forum in Scottsdale that he was a “father, husband, a former teacher, a former political consultant, a Christian.” , a local government councilor…and also a very proud Tasmanian”.

In his inaugural speech to Federal Parliament, Mr Ferguson described working in a daycare center for $2 an hour and outlined the principles that would guide him as a Federal MP, including “encouraging others to fulfill their potential; to show determination when I am convinced of the wisest and most honest course of action, without deluding myself that I will be right in every matter… and to be a team player in this place without sacrificing the people who sent me here.”

He also explained how he would work to “support the most fundamental and important building block of our society, the family.”

It speaks to the importance that Mr Ferguson still attaches to his family that twenty years later, at his final press conference as a frontbencher, Mr Ferguson was flanked by his wife Julie and son James.

At a time when holding on to the ultra-marginal seat of Bass for more than one term was an extremely impressive feat, Ferguson’s stint in federal parliament did not last long, after he was defeated by Labour’s Jodie Campbell in 2007.

After politics he worked as CEO of the Clifford Craig Medical Research Trust.

But it wasn’t long before he got the political itch again and entered state politics as the Liberal member for Bass in the 2010 election, with the second-highest first preference vote in the state.

In what he calls his “second maiden speech”, he called John Howard “Australia’s greatest ever Prime Minister” and outlined northern health care as the first of five key issues he focused on during the 2010 state election campaign.

He was immediately appointed to Opposition Leader Will Hodgman’s front bench and, when the Liberals came to power in 2014, became Minister of Health plus Innovation, Science and Technology.

Rearranged

He was responsible for managing the redevelopment of the Royal Hobart Hospital and not everything went smoothly for Mr Ferguson on the health front.

One of his press conferences was prevented by a senior doctor who wanted to grill him about the lack of beds and training opportunities at the RHH, while others’ concerns surfaced at a health crisis summit.

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After months of mounting pressure for change, Hodgman withdrew his support for Ferguson to remain as health minister in 2019, instead handing him the portfolios of infrastructure and transport, small business and state growth.

“He has without a doubt been one of the greatest health secretaries in the state, he has done an outstanding job,” Hodgman said during the news conference announcing the reshuffle.

After that, Ferguson twice missed the chance to become prime minister: the first time when he withdrew from a 2020 leadership race 20 minutes before the vote on whether he or Peter Gutwein would replace Will Hodgman in the top position, a race that was considered was considered neck and neck. until the vote.

And when Mr Gutwein resigned in 2022, Mr Ferguson was considered a front-runner but ultimately did not nominate for the leadership, instead successfully nominating Prime Minister Jeremy Rockliff’s replacement.

It was also in 2022 that he was appointed to one of the state’s most important portfolios, the Treasury, a role he held until his resignation on Monday evening.

But it is his time as Minister for Infrastructure and Transport that ultimately cost him his job on the front bench.

Takes distance from the Spirit saga

In August, Mr Ferguson resigned from infrastructure work over the Spirit of Tasmania saga – the project to build two new ships and port infrastructure so they could dock in Devonport.

After months of blaming Spirit operator TT-Line for delays and cost blowouts, he said he was resigning “for lack of the company recognizing this extremely disappointing situation”.

He said the issue was becoming an “unnecessary distraction”.

But the focus on the issue, and how Mr. Ferguson and the government handled it, did not stop with his resignation.

Mr Ferguson was sharply criticized for a budget that saddled Tasmania with record debt and failed to chart a path back to operating surplus, but pressed on: combative but resolute.

But a hearing into a parliamentary inquiry into the Spirits affair last Monday finally brought him down, with evidence from former TT-Line chairman Mike Grainger convincing enough MPs that Mr Ferguson had failed so catastrophically as Infrastructure Minister that he couldn’t hold any. other portfolio.

As he has done throughout his career, Ferguson dug in, claiming the evidence given by Mr Grainger and TT-Line CEO Bernard Dwyer contained ‘nothing new’, and letting the public see the ‘culture and attitudes’ at TT-Line who had made TT-Line management this way. the project so challenging.

That continued resistance, weeks after withdrawing from infrastructure, pushed the Greens, and independent David O’Byrne, over the edge.

Going down with the ship has not changed Mr. Ferguson’s opinion.

“Even though no new facts were brought to the table last week, I think we can all count and we should be able to sustain a vote in parliament,” he said.

But despite taking a backseat after being knocked down for the fourth time in his career, Mr Ferguson isn’t going anywhere.

“I want to bring the same level of passion and energy to the backseat as I do to the frontseat,” he said Monday.

It’s a big change for Mr. Ferguson.

But perhaps a bigger challenge for Mr. Rockliff, who no longer has to suffer the shame of seeing his deputy in Parliament demoted, but instead must fill the shoes of a resilient, passionate politician who served alongside him as one of the Liberal Party’s most prominent politicians. loyal foot soldiers for 14 years.