The Treasurer has confirmed the assumptions he used to justify axing 700 more public servants than he promised were wildy inaccurate.
Peter Gutwein used different methodology to predict GST revenue in his 2014/15 Budget than was used the year before and the year after.
Shadow Treasuer Scott Bacon said the Treasurer made plans to cut 1200 jobs based on predictions that proved to be way off.
“Peter Gutwein tricked Tasmanians into thinking there was a Budget emergency,” Mr Bacon said.
“The embarrassing thing for the Premier is he was deceived too.
“It’s been proven to be nothing more than a cruel hoax.
“The Treasurer admitted today that predictions available to him at the time were effectively a guess but still used them to cut a swathe through public services.
“Estimates from the 2013/14 Budget have proved to be significantly more accurate than Mr Gutwein’s effort in 2014/15.
“He concocted a problem that never came true.
“And in the process he cut services and sent people to the unemployment queue.
“Never once did he indicate that his projections might prove to be way off the mark.
“The Treasurer has treated the public service with complete contempt.”
Scott Bacon MP Shadow Treasurer
