Dean Winter MP, Labor Leader, 17 September 2024
Labor outlines vision for Tasmania
The Labor Party has changed under my leadership.
We are firmly focused on jobs and economic development. We are back in the business of nation-building, and we’re unashamedly pro-development, pro-business, and pro-workers. We are the party of responsible financial management in Tasmanian politics today.
I am excited to present a new vision for Tasmania future—one where Tasmania is the easiest place to do business, and the best place to grow up, work and retire.
And today I’ve outlined three new initiatives to make that vision a reality.
- Backing Development: We will give champion development, cut red tape, and accelerate new projects by giving the Coordinator-General new powers to get things done
- A Renewable Energy Boom: We will get Marinus built by allowing the Federal Government to take control – unlocking $25 billion of renewable energy development
- Fixing the Budget: We will start the work of bringing Tasmania’s finances back under control, with ten initiatives for budget repair
These come on top of our commitment to back a new stadium, the university’s plans for a $500 million science facility and 2,000 new homes, and our unwavering commitment to the industries that regional Tasmania in particular relies on.
I am proud to offer Tasmanians new leadership and a renewed Labor Party, with a vision of hope for the future.
Together, we can deliver the change Tasmania needs.
A copy of Dean Winter’s budget reply is available here.
Unleashing $25 billion of development for Tasmania
Under my leadership, Labor stands for safe, secure, well-paid jobs.
Which is why today in my budget reply I announced Labor’s plan for unleashing $25 billion worth of investment in Tasmania.
Labor is going to give the Coordinator-General real powers, and real teeth. There is a massive investment backlog in our state that is holding Tasmania’s economy back.
There is $25 billion worth of capital waiting at our door, and none of it is happening because it’s too hard to deal with this minority Liberal government. Businesses find it impossible to get any of their issues fixed, and the approvals process is too slow.
Tasmania needs a Coordinator-General with teeth.
We’re proposing to provide the Coordinator-General with the powers to declare an investment to be a priority project for Tasmania, triggering powers to coordinate environmental assessments, apply zoning changes, and direct government businesses to provide support, not blockages.
It would enable proponents to access development assessment processes that sit above the planning scheme, order information from public agencies and government businesses, and direct Infrastructure Tasmania and government businesses to get on with public investments that support or unlock priority private sector projects.
It would have the power – independent of government – to undertake or commission investigations that are necessary to support investment, infrastructure, and development in Tasmania.
And the Coordinator-General would answer directly to the Premier.
They would have a mission to go in and actually get things done – because after the stagnation of minority government, that’s what Tasmania needs to get our economy moving again.
First steps to get the Liberals’ debt under control
The Liberals have mismanaged Tasmania’s budget for the last decade, and now our finances are the worst in the country.
Under the Liberals, spending has increased substantially but service delivery outcomes in healthcare, educational achievement and housing have declined.
Today in my budget reply speech, I announced Labor’s first steps towards getting the public finances back on track. Ten things we will do from day one, to get our budget back on track, after ten years of the Liberals’ budget mismanagement.
Labor will:
- Bring more consulting services in-house, as the Federal government has done successfully.
- Conduct an audit of all outsourcing contracts to ensure taxpayers are getting value for money. And we will not hesitate to renegotiate or terminate contracts that are not delivering cost savings, high-quality outcomes or which could be delivered better in-house.
- Ban pork-barrelling and rorts to stop taxpayers being ripped off. We will pass a law to make all government grants go through a rigorous assessment process.
- Stamp out dodgy deals and the improper use of public money by enhancing the powers and independence of the Tasmanian Audit Office. Our Auditors have the weakest powers of all any similar agency in the country and we believe that needs to change.
- Ensure decisions are taken with a long-term view of the state’s finances, by including 10-year projections for debt and deficits in every budget, as Saul Eslake has recommended.
- Improve financial transparency and the policy development capacity of the entire Parliament, by establishing a Parliamentary Budget Service. We will negotiate a deal to enable a Treasury officer to be based within the Federal PBO to help reduce the cost.
- Establish a Review and Evaluation Unit in Treasury so failed programs and policies can be identified and ended.
- Examine opportunities for specialised delivery of services.
- Explore merging the generic IT infrastructure of various government departments to reduce maintenance costs, strengthen buying power and improve cybersecurity.
- Introduce performance-based budgeting that links government spending to measurable outcomes.
Every dollar saved with this policy will go directly towards debt reduction.
We acknowledge these measures are not going to fix the Liberals’ budget disaster overnight. The hole they’ve dug is so deep that it’s not credible to suggest that is even possible.
Digging ourselves out again will take years of discipline and hard work.
I acknowledge that much more will have to be done, but I’m willing to do what’s required to get Tasmania out of the financial mess the Liberals have put us in.
Media release – Felix Ellis, Liberal Member for Braddon, 17 September 2024
Labor hasn’t changed
In an eerie case of déjà vu, Labor has edited its Leader’s Budget in Reply Speech – removing a number of telling references.
The original speech was swiftly removed soon after being uploaded.
The second version uploaded later removed the statement “Labor has changed’, along with Mr Winter claiming, “I’ve said we’ve changed, and I mean it.”
It seems Labor hasn’t changed. And Mr Winter knows it.
The second version also removes a claim Mr Winter’s ten-point plan “will save at least $150m”.
Mr Winter’s reluctance to quote figures is understandable, given Labor’s track record of having to retract and alter its budget promises given they didn’t add up.
It’s no wonder Mr Winter ignored Parliament’s calls to deliver an alternative Budget.
The original speech is available here.
Media release – Simon Behrakis, Liberal Member for Clark, 17 September 2024
Dean ‘look-at-me’ Winter
Labor Leader Dean Winter’s ‘look-at-me’ reply was the usual Labor strategy of more bureaucracy, more red tape, more big government.
Mr Winter referred to himself a whopping 63 times throughout his reply, seemingly forgetting what the Budget is about: doing what matters for Tasmanians.
Mr Winter’s speech sounded more like he was re-auditioning for his own job as Opposition Leader.
There’s no ‘I’ in team, but there’s a big ‘I’ in Winter.
After being caught out plagiarising parts of the 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, he would have been better off spending his time formulating an alternative budget, as the Parliament called on him to do.
But it seems the only job Mr Winter is interested in, is his own.
