Liberals breaking promises and adopting Labor policies

Labor Leader Bryan Green said this week’s Budget Estimates hearings had been highly illuminating.

Mr Green said the Estimates process had shone a light on the Liberals’ broken promises.

In a welcome development, the Government also used the week to adopt Labor policies – from preventative health to mining.

Less than a week after labelling Labor’s budget reply polices as thought-bubbles, Ministers have adopted our ideas including:

– Royalty holidays and special mining zones to kick-start mining projects;
– Supporting an AFL academy and Tasmania’s own team in the competition;
– Regulating e-cigarettes; and
– Positioning Tasmania to take advantage of electric transport technology, including incorporating electric vehicles in the government fleet.

“It is heartening that the Liberals have adopted so many Labor policies, but it is a shame their first instinct was to ridicule our ideas,” Mr Green said.

“I would encourage the Government to look favourably at our other policies, including building two new Child and Family centres, banning the sale of sugary drinks in schools, establishing a bio-fuels innovation fund and adopting a model of mobile case managers within Mineral Resources Tasmania.”

Mr Green said the news out of Estimates wasn’t all positive, with the hearings exposing a litany of broken promises.

Peter Gutwein was forced to admit that his promise to create 8000 jobs was based on Treasury’s projections of employment growth in the overall economy and not directly attributable to his $315 million jobs package.

The Premier appeared oblivious to the Treasurer’s deceit, including using wildly inaccurate GST forecasts to justify the sacking of teachers and health workers.

Minister after Minister failed to answer questions about how massive cuts in their departments would continue to impact on essential services.

The Liberal Party’s election promises to relocate Mineral Resources Tasmania to Burnie and establish 10 new jobs in the Coordinator General’s office in Launceston have been exposed as lies.

It was revealed that at the same time as 188 teachers have lost their jobs, the Liberals’ policy to take regional high schools to year 12 is costing $125,000 a student.

Attorney General Vanessa Goodwin has failed to lift a finger in response to the Aboriginal Legal Service losing its funding.

And today we had the explosive admission that $4 million in promised funding for elective surgery cannot be spent because of cuts to medical staff at a time when elective surgery waiting lists have blown out by more than 40 per cent.

Mr Green said the Government’s spin and lies were unravelling fast.

“The Liberals are running out of excuses for their litany of broken promises.”
Bryan Green MP Labor Leader