The Butler quits - how big is the payout?*
Breaking news from Tassie folks. The Butler has quit. We can only wonder what happened during his meeting with Premier Paul Lennon this evening because Australia's roughest Premier declined to speak to the media as he left Government House.
The Butler and his mates have blamed the Murdoch press and "conservative forces" for a "malicious campaign" which was damaging Tasmania and sparked tonight's resignation.
So how big is the payout? Peter Hollingworth certainly got looked after for leaving early and there were lots of rumors that Dicky was short of a dollar before taking the Tassie gig? The big question is whether he'll get that lucrative pension? This could end up being a seven-figure mistake, not to mention all the bad publicity.
The poor bloke has even made the world pages of The Times today. Why is it that Tassie only makes the international press for tree-lopping and controversial governors? This will become a big media story folks as there are allegations of a Murdoch conspiracy. Was the media unfair? Send your feedback to letters@crikey.com.au and we'll get a special yoursay up on the site tomorrow.
An Australian monarchist in London has defended the press pack's ferocious attack as follows:
"All the commotion for getting Butler to stand down is not Tasmania being insular and out of touch. It is called accoutability and the press do it all round the world. For example, when the Duke of York - the UK's special trade representative - was perceived as paying too much attention to his one-year appointment as Captain of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club a couple of months back, the tabloids here gave him a pasting. If Butler was in the UK and behaved as he is in Tasmania, he would be front page every day on The Sun until he went.
"And so much for making 'use of his international contacts'. So far the only international coverage he has had involves embarassing himself at the Royal Wedding in Denmark, being rude in Singapore, losing Tasmania friends in the US and making headlines for all the wrong reasons in London. What reasons can there be for keeping him?"
Here are some extracts from Roger Maynard's piece in The Times which is the global Murdoch contribution which might just have pushed Butler over the edge after.
Former diplomat sparks devil of a row in Tasmania
As the United Nations’ chief weapons inspector in Iraq and a career diplomat, Richard Butler was schooled in the art of political and international protocol and smoothing relations where necessary. As Governor of Tasmania, the Queen’s official representative in Australia’s so-called Apple Isle, his relations with local staff have been far from cordial.
The appointment of Mr Butler, who makes no secret of his republican sympathies, in the most deeply conservative Australian state was never a happy one. That the job carries a salary of 150,000 pounds a year — more than that earned by Michael Jeffery, the Governor- General, or Mr Howard — has made the situation worse and led to demands for action from Paul Lennon, the Tasmanian Premier.
Rene Hidding, leader of the Opposition in the Tasmanian parliament, said yesterday that the departure of the three staff over apparent conflict with Mr Butler and his wife was a matter of serious concern. It had the potential to damage public confidence in the office of the Governor.
Harry Quick, a Labor MP in the Australian House of Representatives, put it bluntly: “This Governor has to go.”
The three most senior staff at the 73-room neo-Gothic Government House — the Governor’s aide-de-camp, his official secretary and his senior adviser — resigned last week. A fourth, Syd McClymont, the police aide-de-camp, who has held the honorary position for 17 years, also said that he would stand down.
Mr Butler, who has held the job since October, was appointed Governor by Jim Bacon, the late Premier of Tasmania. He married Jennifer the following day at Government House and shortly afterwards set off for a honeymoon in Vietnam. Within days The Mercury newspaper in Hobart was carrying leaked e-mails from Singapore Airlines staff alleging “appalling” behaviour by Mr Butler at Sydney and Singapore airports. He was said to have “created a scene” when he was denied a request for an upgrade to business class because he was the Governor of Tasmania.
Concern began to grow when he overcame his anti-monarchist sentiments to attend the wedding of Mary Donaldson, a Tasmanian, to Prince Frederik of Denmark in Copenhagen in May. According to The Weekend Australian newspaper, political and royal guests were waiting for the arrival of Queen Margrethe when, in a clear breach of etiquette, he started tucking into the food early.
One guest told the newspaper: “I don’t think he represented his constituency in the best possible light — maybe he started his wedding drinks a bit early.”
After the royal wedding in Copenhagen, the couple continued a 15-day European trip by visiting Germany. They were met by Australian embassy staff in Berlin and their luggage was loaded into two cars.
The Australian reported that they were driven to the Ritz-Carlton Schlosshotel, a renovated former private palace. Mrs Butler is said to have “chucked a wobbly” when they arrived, unhappy that the hotel was on the outskirts of Central Berlin. She had wanted to be in the centre of town. The party made for the more central Intercontinental.
Tune in to Crikey's spot on ABC Tasmania with Tim Cox at 11.35am (today) (Tues)
*$650,000!
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Tuesday, August 10, 2004