Rebecca White MP, Labor Leader, 31 May 2022
Tasmania going backwards under Liberals
The Rockliff-Ferguson government’s first budget – the ninth under the Liberals – is confirmation of a government that has completely lost its way.
Just 12 months after going to the polls early promising stable government, we instead have chaos and instability, and a new Premier whose weakness and failure of economic leadership leaves Tasmanian households struggling with the cost of living.
The cost of living is rising more than twice as fast as wages, making life harder and harder for families, and putting further pressure on overstretched workers.
Water and power prices are going up and the government has introduced new taxes on every household, and yet support for pensioners and concession card holders was cut in the budget.
The Rockliff-Ferguson budget has delivered record debt – $5.2 billion and counting – and housing and health services are at crisis levels.
Under the Liberals’ economic management, Tasmanians are not only paying more for the basics, they’re also finding it harder to find somewhere to live, with soaring rents and the dream of owning a home increasingly out of reach.
All this while they have failed to deliver numerous project they have promised Tasmanians, including:
- The Glenorchy ambulance superstation
- The Burnie ambulance superstation
- Cosgrove High School
- Macquarie Point
- The Cradle Mountain Cableway
- Project X in the Huon
- The $580 million redevelopment of the Launceston General Hospital.
All this government has delivered is a cost-of-living crisis, new taxes, falling real wages, declining population, record debt, and a ridiculous proposal to spend $750 million on a floating stadium in Hobart.
Tasmanians deserve so much better than the future outlined for them in this budget.
They deserve a government that is serious about tackling the cost of living crisis.
Mr Rockliff and Mr Ferguson need to scrap the bin tax, reverse their cuts to cost of living support, begin addressing the soaring cost of rents and back a real wage rise for workers.
Tasmanians also deserve a government that’s serious about getting Tasmania off the bottom of the economic ladder by grasping the economic opportunities of the future.
This means developing our abundant renewable energy resources, working with our primary industries and innovative businesses and driving real, transformative change in our education system.
We need to get back to the basics of economic management and deliver a better economic future for our state and all Tasmanians.
David O’Byrne MP, Member for Franklin, 31 May 2022
Treasurer’s ‘budget with a heart’ fails core health challenge
Chronic workforce shortages across Tasmania’s hospitals and healthcare sector will only worsen after Treasurer Ferguson’s latest blow to health workers, says David O’Byrne MP.
“Our hospitals are crumbling while healthcare workers are on their knees and have resorted to launching industrial action due to their pay conditions and being overworked. But this Treasurer’s self-described ‘budget with a heart’ does nothing to address these workforce shortages,” said Mr O’Byrne.
“In answer to my question in Parliament today, the Premier described health workers as being ‘the greatest asset to our health system,’ so why has this budget left these workers in the cold?
“What this budget needed was an investment in the health workforce with a competitive wage offer to stem the exodus of health workers who are fleeing to the mainland for better pay. It’s what the ANMF, HACSU and the even the Australian Medical Association wanted.
“Instead, we saw the Treasurer budget for a 2.5% wage increase for Tasmanian workers, which in real terms is a pay cut given the soaring cost of living.
“We don’t want to see a repeat of the government’s cynical handling of the Covid allowance, which was delivered way too late and which very few health workers will actually receive.
“The contrast between the Premier’s supposed commitment to the wellbeing of health workers, and what was in the Treasurer’s budget, could not be clearer.
“If the Premier truly values our health workforce, he should commit to paying them a wage that is fair and nationally competitive. Only then can we begin to address the workforce shortages that are crippling our hospitals.”
Media release – Nic Street, Leader of the House, 31 May 2022
Labor’s lazy budget critique
Rebecca White’s budget reply speech has, once again, offered absolutely nothing – no plan, no alternative budget, and absolutely no idea what she stands for.
This is Labor’s ninth opportunity to produce a properly costed and funded Alternative Budget, and just like in previous years, they’ve failed miserably.
Ms White also promised to lead a delegation to Canberra to present Labor’s policies to the new Prime Minister– but then bizarrely failed to outline any.
Will she be presenting a blank piece of paper to Mr Albanese?
And just like in previous years, Ms White deliberately misled the House on a number of points – at times referring to money that isn’t even in the Budget papers, and claiming Tasmania’s economy is falling behind, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
Our Budget is delivering for all Tasmanians, and our strong economic management has allowed us to support Tasmanian businesses and the community throughout the pandemic and invest in the essential services Tasmanians care about such as health, education, housing, and assisting vulnerable Tasmanians with the cost of living.
By contrast, Ms White’s lacklustre reply has again confirmed she has nothing to offer except pot shots from the sidelines, with no alternative solution.
Rosalie Woodruff MP, Greens Environment spokesperson, 31 May 2022
Cuts to the Environment Hurts Us All
The Minister for Environment Roger Jaensch is responsible for devastating cuts of over $33.75 million in waste initiatives across the next four years. His Department will spend just $14 million over four years, during a biodiversity crisis, as endangered species hang on by beak and claw, and waste pollution balloons.
When questioned about these massive cuts to protection for lutruwita/Tasmania’s environment, Minister Jaensch did not deny the cuts and refused to answer the question.
Tasmanians confronting the daunting task of grappling with our growing mountain of waste will be outraged Minister Jaensch has erased the investment needed to make Tasmania plastic free and become a Circular Economy.
The extra small change for threatened species assessment and recovery is a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of animals and plants on the brink of survival, and the complexity of pressures they face with global warming, feral species and habitat loss.
Minister Jaensch was all at sea when confronted with these abhorrent cuts. Tasmania is in huge trouble when our Environment Minister gets on the Liberal anti-environment bus.
These cuts would be a terrible shock for people who love and our Tasmanian plants and animals, and want to keep our suburbs and wild places free from increasing waste.
The Greens will present our fully-costed Alternative Budget, including resourcing for environmental protection and a circular economy, on Wednesday 1 June.
Cassy O’Connor MP, Greens Leader, 31 May 2022
Ferguson Denies the Facts
Today in Parliament, trainee Treasurer Michael Ferguson denied figures in his own budget and dismissed the analysis of the Productivity Commission.
Tasmanians are in trouble when the man in control of the books refutes the facts for some sort of financial fantasy.
Worse still, are the facts.
In the past eight years, according to the Productivity Commission, only 578 additional properties have been delivered.
In 2016-17, Mr Ferguson’s predecessor promised 941 new homes, but delivered just 186.
In 2017-18, the data shows a net loss of 212 public and community homes.
In 2018-19, Tasmanians were promised 1500 new homes, so far only 697 have been reported as finished.
We’ve since been promised 10,000 new homes within a decade, but the only new money for housing starts the year after next, and a total of $35 million out of $1.1billion – just 3% – is allocated.
It’s not a ‘comprehensive and ambitious’ housing strategy, it’s a con. It will only serve to give false hope to the community. A community desperate for real and urgent investment to alleviate the housing and rent affordability crisis.
