Paul Lennon

Paul Anthony Lennon (born 8 October 1955), Australian politician, has been Premier of Tasmania since 21 March 2004. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party.

Lennon is rare among modern Australian politicians in that he does not have a university education and comes from a working-class background. Born in Hobart, he worked as a storeman and clerk before becoming an organiser with the Storemen and Packers Union in 1978. In 1980 he became Tasmanian State Secretary of the union and from 1982 he was Senior Vice President of the national union.

In 1984 Lennon became Secretary of the Tasmanian Trades & Labor Council, and also a member of the Executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

Lennon was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly in 1990 on a recount of votes following the resignation of Ken Wriedt and immediately became Deputy Leader of the Labor Party. He was Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, Workplace Standards, Workers' Compensation, Public Sector Management, Forests, Mines, Racing and Gaming, and Leader of Opposition Business in the House of Assembly.

On the election of a Labor government under Jim Bacon in 1998, Lennon became Deputy Premier, Minister for Infrastructure, Energy and Resources and Minister for Racing and Gaming. Following the re-election of the government in 2002, he became Minister for Economic Development, Energy and Resources, and Minister for Racing and Sport and Recreation.

In February 2004 Bacon was diagnosed with lung cancer and stood down as Premier to begin treatment. Lennon was Acting Premier until 21 March, when Bacon resigned and Lennon was sworn in as Tasmania’s 42nd Premier. He is also Treasurer.

Lenon and Bacon were close friends as well as colleagues and Lennon was emotional as he assumed the premiership with Bacon watching on. "It's hard to describe how you feel when someone who has been that close to you also happens to be your boss," Lennon told an interviewer. "It was a very tough time. A very tough time indeed."

Lennon is known as an active proponent of Tasmania's forestry industry, which has made him very unpopular with the Greens, numerous conservation groups and others on the left. He represents a long tradition of conservative, pro-business Labor leadership in Tasmania. Both Lennon's Labor government and the State Opposition have been criticised for their close ties with the logging company Gunns Limited.

In January 2006, Lennon faced criticism in the media over allegations of impropriety when it was revealed that he had received an upgrade from a A$200 per night room in the Crown Casino to a six-star suite worth up to A$4000 per night, complete with a private butler. The Crown Casino is owned by the Packer family's Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, which also owns a 50% stake in Betfair, the company to which Lennon's government days later awarded a A$700 million internet gaming licence.[1]

In the 2006 state election Lennon successfully led the Labor party to a majority government, contrary to many pre election predictions.

As of 2006, Lennon is the only state premier with facial hair, in his case a moustache. Previously, Lennon's predecessor Jim Bacon held this distinction as well.

References

• Tasmanian parliamentary profile

See also

• Paul Lennon's maiden speech to parliament