Address – Jeremy Rockliff, Premier, 31 August 2024
Premier’s 2024 State Council speech
It’s fantastic to be with you all this morning.
And we all have much to be proud of, and to celebrate, as we look to the future.
While this is a great opportunity for the Liberal family to be together, I want to acknowledge the passing of members of our extended family.
Roger Groom served our party and our state with great distinction, as a minister in both the Robin Gray and Ray Groom Liberal Governments.
Roger served the electorate of Braddon for 21 years, introduced the Bass Strait ferry Abel Tasman and encouraged the start of the salmon industry.
On a personal note, Roger was very kind and supportive of me as Young Liberal President in the early 1990s.
I looked up to Roger as a measured, hard-working and considered Minister in the Ray Groom government.
Our thoughts are with the Groom family as they mourn the loss of Roger and his wife, Gay, in recent times.
And earlier this month we lost Robin’s devoted wife Judy.
As I expressed to members of the family recently, Judy was a much admired and loved ‘First Lady’ and many, many Tasmanians will be saddened at hearing this news.
On behalf of all of us, I extend my condolences to both families who are rightly proud of the contribution Roger and Judy made: our lives are richer for having them as part of our Liberal family.
Today I want to thank all of you for your support and hard work that ensured the Tasmanian Liberal team won a historic fourth term.
It really is a remarkable achievement.
And one that is so important for the future prosperity and success of our state.
We could not have done it without you.
We haven’t wasted a minute getting on with the job after that election win.
We’ve hit the ground running to deliver our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.
It’s the plan we proudly presented to the people of Tasmania.
It’s the plan the people of Tasmania expect us to deliver.
And we won’t let them down.
We promised to get 78 actions done and delivered in our first one hundred days.
And that is exactly what our capable team did.
All 78: delivered.
Plus, another 187 for good measure!
They included strong action on cost-of-living relief, on health, and housing.
At State Council last year, I announced our key policy commitment of a Renewable Energy Dividend.
As I said, Hydro was built by Tasmanians, for Tasmanians, and now Tasmanians will rightly reap the rewards of this Tasmanian success story.
Because when Hydro makes money, Tasmanians save money.
We have put $250 into every Tasmanian household and $300 to 35 thousand small businesses.
This is meaningful.
I was written to by pensioner Annette, who described the dividend as an “energy blessing”.
Annette expressed her delight and surprise at the impact it made and she was very grateful.
We’ve also cut public transport fares in half.
And ripped up the Labor-Green Hydro charter which focused on selling our energy to Victoria and replaced it with a new one that puts Tasmanians first.
We’ve stamped out stamp duty ensuring first homebuyers don’t pay a cent of stamp duty for any home valued up to $750,000.
We have reignited the dream of home ownership in Tasmania, for young Tasmanians.
And we have stepped in where the Federal Government has failed up to step up: delivering our new GP Guarantee.
We’ve recruited more doctors, nurses, and paramedics.
We’ve made enormous progress towards our goal of ending ramping.
And the data confirms our plan is working.
With more than 80 per cent of ambulances across Tasmania transferring patients to the Emergency Department within 60 minutes in May, June and July.
Put simply, the new protocol is working.
The naysayers said it couldn’t be done.
We did it.
This is a significant achievement and I thank our dedicated healthcare workers for achieving this.
On Day 100 of our new term, we immediately released our next 100-day plan.
So, Tasmanians know exactly what we will deliver.
Ministers know exactly what needs to be done.
And keeping our Government departments accountable to our plan.
That’s real transparency, and that’s accountability.
In 12 days’ time, the Deputy Premier and Treasurer, Michael Ferguson, will deliver a budget that will ensure Tasmania continues to be the best place in the nation to live, work and raise a family.
It’s a budget that will deliver our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.
It’s a budget that continues record investment in health, housing, and education.
It’s a budget that delivers record cost-of-living relief.
We’ve got a proud record when it comes to delivering infrastructure.
And this Budget builds on our decade of delivery, providing the intergenerational infrastructure we need.
New schools, rebuilt hospitals, the Midland Highway, the Bridgewater Bridge and new ambulance stations – we have delivered and will continue to do so.
It’s a budget that provides a sensible pathway to surplus.
The thing that makes this Liberal Party great is that we back Tasmanians with the relentless energy to prove wrong anyone who says it can’t be done.
This party, this government, is about protecting that Tasmanian can-do attitude and not allowing it to be eroded by the naysayers, the whingers, those who put blinkered ideology above freedom of choice.
Our eyes are firmly focussed on the things that matter for everyday Tasmanians.
Ensuring Tasmania is open for business.
Ensuring the economic development we need to keep creating jobs.
Ensuring our children and their children can own their own homes, just as our generation was able to do so.
One of the fundamentals of Liberal beliefs is smaller Government and cutting red tape.
And we have done this in spades over the course of the last decade.
We’ve simplified stamp duty on corporate restructures; earlier issues of titles for new subdivisions; a single civil and administrative tribunal; and we are removing barriers for workforce housing for farmers.
These are just some of the examples.
We have also slashed red tape in health care by providing greater access through our pharmacies.
This includes making it easier for Tasmanian women to access everyday medications over the counter.
We will do whatever needs to be done to support our community.
And this includes our business and investor community.
We will continue to slash red tape and cut through any obstacles that makes doing business harder.
There is more to do.
In recent days, we have seen a planning decision derail a much-needed retail development at Stoney Rise in north west Tasmania.
A retail development that would provide for a medical centre, a supermarket and other speciality stores.
It’s not good enough.
We cannot allow decisions like this to stand in the way of economic growth, of jobs, and of progress.
We will take a good hard look at the rules that led to this decision.
And we will take action to ensure common sense prevails.
Ours is a great party.
A party of commitment.
A party of reward for individual effort.
We have proven the pundits wrong in securing a fourth term.
And we will not allow Labor or the Greens to again take our great state down a road to ruin.
We will keep building on what we have achieved.
With hard work, and an unwavering determination to listen and to deliver.
What I have learned throughout my time as a member of Parliament is that persistence pays off.
Nothing comes easy.
It takes hard work.
We fought – Will Hodgman, Peter Gutwein, myself and others – fought for 12 years to get to the Government benches and turn Tasmania around.
And what we are seeing is that same determination in other parts of Australia where the blue wave is building right across the nation.
Led from Tasmania.
It gave me great pleasure in contacting the new chief Minister of the Northern Territory after her resounding win.
Congratulations Lia.
I look forward to our ranks again being bolstered in October when David frees Queensland from an inept Labor Government.
And also, to the day, in the not-too-distant future when Peter Dutton is elected Prime Minister.
In Peter, we have a strong and passionate leader of Liberal values.
We have a man of principle, with the desire and ability to take our nation into a better future.
Australians know where Peter stands, and what he stands for.
He will stand up to the union bullies who have corrupted building sites across the nation.
He will stand up for ordinary working families who have been devasted by the Federal Government’s inability to control inflation and interest rates.
He will keep our nation safe.
And together with Federal Liberal candidates and members Bridget Archer, Susie Bower, Mal Hingston.
And our Senate team at the next election Claire Chandler, Richard Colbeck and Jackie Martin.
Together with Peter.
And I know they all support Peter standing up for our hardworking men and women in the salmon, mining and farming industries.
And I believe he will stop Tasmania being shortchanged by Canberra, just as our outgoing Federal Member for Braddon Gavin Pearce has.
Gavin has turned a marginal seat into a Liberal stronghold.
Gav, we are proud of you, proud of your family and all that you have achieved, and most importantly the commonsense values that you stand for.
So, to our Liberal family, with determination and hard work we will keep this island state punching above our scale, showing the rest of the nation, and indeed the world what it means to be Tasmanian.
What it means to be there for each other, to take challenges head on, and to never give up.
Thank you for being here today and thank you for being part of this great Liberal family.
Media release – Shane Broad MP, Leader of Opposition Business in the House of Assembly, 31 August 2024
Dutton Snubs Rockliff
Jeremy Rockliff’s minority government is so shambolic even Peter Dutton does not want to be associated with it – choosing to leave the state after a flying visit rather than attend the Liberal State Conference.
It was a disastrous week for Jeremy Rockliff as his four-month-old Liberal-Lambie Coalition imploded and he was forced to backflip on his 2018 election promise to build a northern prison.
There is no money left in the bank to pay for his promises.
Jeremy Rockliff’s party is in tatters, his budget is broken, his Deputy Premier’s career is effectively on trial, he’s in a factional war with Eric Abetz and his own Federal Leader doesn’t want to be seen near him.
After 10 years in government, the Liberal Party is disorganised, at war with itself and losing the ability to govern.
Media release – Josh Willie MP, Shadow Treasurer, 1 September 2024
What is Ferguson’s budget mismanagement really costing us?
Saul Eslake’s Independent Review of Tasmania’s Finances has laid bare the devastating impact of Liberal financial mismanagement on Tasmania. Labor analysis released today shows the impact the Liberals’ record debt servicing costs will have on frontline services.
With projected interest on the Liberals’ $16 billion debt set to reach $730 million annually, Tasmania will struggle to employ thousands of frontline workers in our hospitals, schools and local communities.
Labor’s analysis shows that for the cost of servicing the Liberals’ debt, you could employ a combined total of:
800 police officers;
1,200 teachers; and
1,500 nurses
Tasmania’s public services are at breaking point without this problem entirely caused by the current government’s policy decisions.
The Liberals’ ballooning debt servicing costs will make it harder to address hospital wait lists, give our schools the resources they need to lift education outcomes, and keep our community safe.
It will be Tasmanians who pay for Treasurer Ferguson’s looming budget disaster because it will impact the health, safety and education services Tasmanians rely on.
After delivering the biggest deficit in Tasmanian history and ballooning record debt, what do the Liberals actually have to show for it? The economy is flatlining, essential services are in crisis, and each week a plane full of working age Tasmanians leave the state in search of better opportunities elsewhere.
After inheriting zero net debt from Labor in 2014, the Liberals have blown the budget so badly, Tasmania is set to have the worst finances in the nation within three years.
Under Treasurer Ferguson, who recently resigned from the Infrastructure portfolio because of the monumental TT Line stuff up, it’s hard to see how they can possibly get the state’s finances back on track.
Media release – Cassy O’Connor MLC, Greens Animal Welfare Spokesperson, 1 September 2024
Why are the State Liberals Afraid of Debating Greyhound Racing?
The Liberal Party doesn’t have the courage to allow its members to debate and vote on the massive public subsidy that props up the racing industries.
A thoughtfully worded motion to phase out public funding for greyhound racing was pushed to the end of the priority list at the Liberals’ State Council this weekend. Of course, it never got debated.
Put forward by the Launceston Business Branch, the motion pointed to EMRS research which confirms 79% of Tasmanians oppose public funding of the industry.
Overwhelmingly, Tasmanians don’t want their tax dollars wasted torturing defenceless animals.
The State Liberals aren’t just ignoring their own members, they’re deaf to a growing community that does not support exploiting animals for profit and certainly doesn’t want to contribute to that cruelty.
All animal enthusiasts should be thankful to greyhound loving members of the Liberal Party for trying, and for the animal welfare organisations that every day work towards making lutruwita/Tasmania a cruelty-free state.
