The dark cloud of the Manchester terrorist attack hung over the lower house on Wednesday morning.
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Premier Will Hodgman opened proceedings by paying his respects to those who died in the blast – which was caused by a suicide bomber - and expressing his sympathy for their families.
“They are hurting and we share their pain,” Mr Hodgman said.
Opposition Leader Rebecca White and Greens leader Cassy O’Connor joined the Premier in mourning the Manchester victims, many of whom were children.
It was not long, however, before Question Time proper began, the mood of tripartite civility fading instantly.
Ms White asked the Premier whether or not he would expedite an audit of deaths at the Royal Hobart Hospital in the first three months of 2017.
“Premier, the concerns of doctors over the number of deaths at the Royal Hobart Hospital could not be more serious,” Ms White said.
Mr Hodgman said the government had appointed an executive director for patient care “designed to do exactly what the Leader of the Opposition is asking”.
“I reject any suggestion we don’t take this matter seriously,” the Premier said.
Ms O’Connor went at the Premier, too, asking him if the Liberal Party would stop accepting donations from Federal Group, which has a monopoly over the poker machine industry in Tasmania.
Mr Hodgman reminded the house that his government had established a joint-house inquiry into the pokie industry in this state.
Opposition education spokeswoman Michelle O’Byrne asked her Liberal counterpart Jeremy Rockliff when he first became aware of the allegations of misconduct levelled at outgoing TasTAFE chief executive Stephen Conway.
Mr Rockliff said he received a phone call from the acting chief executive of the Integrity Commission on August 30, 2016, informing him of the commencement of the IC investigation into Mr Conway’s conduct.
Franklin Greens MHA Rosalie Woodruff also asked a question of Mr Rockliff - this time, in relation to his Primary Industries portfolio.
Ms Woodruff inquired as to whether Tassal would be allowed to “slip through" with the non-compliances at its Macquarie Harbour lease.
Tassal's waste management system in Macquarie Harbour, Mr Rockliff said, would be "rigourously monitored" by the Environment Protection Authority.
Speaker Elise Archer subsequently ejected Ms Woodruff for interjecting without calling a point of order.
Denison Labor MHA Madeleine Ogilvie pressed Treasurer Peter Gutwein on the letter he sent to Energy Minister Matthew Groom in 2015 relating to the prospective sale of the Tamar Valley Power Station.
The Public Accounts Committee has called on Mr Gutwein to release an unredacted copy of the letter, believing it could shed new light on the government’s actions prior to the 2016 energy crisis.
“Treasurer, did you mislead the Public Accounts Committee when you said you didn’t know what had been redacted?” Ms Ogilvie said.
The Treasurer “reject[ed] the assertions … absolutely”.
“Obviously I didn’t have the letter with me that day,” he told the house.
The Treasurer will have a lot more to say on Thursday, when he hands down the 2017-18 state budget.