Labor has referred Jeremy Rockliff’s taxpayer-funded advertising spend to the Auditor-General, following revelations that public money was used for Liberal campaigning after the 2024 election was called. The move follows an investigation by Tasmanian Times into Right to Information (RTI) disclosures, which exposed thousands of dollars in government spending during a period when the government had lost the confidence of the Parliament.
Shadow Attorney-General Ella Haddad said the Premier’s refusal to acknowledge the breach was “deeply unethical.”
Media release – Ella Haddad MHA, Shadow Attorney General, Shadow Minister for Justice and Integrity, 21 December 2025
Rockliff’s taxpayer-funded Liberal election spend referred to Auditor-General
Labor has referred Jeremy Rockliff’s taxpayer-funded Liberal election advertising spend to the Auditor-General for further investigation.
Right to Information documents revealed that the Rockliff Government continued to spend thousands of dollars of public money after the Premier had lost the confidence of the Parliament, and after he had requested an early election.
Given the seriousness of this deeply unethical behaviour, one might expect some contrition from a Premier who has been exposed for yet another integrity breach.
Not from Jeremy Rockliff.
Predictably, we saw his default response which is to pretend there’s nothing to see here and sweep it under the carpet.
Over recent weeks we’ve seen this play out with censured Minister Nick Duigan’s vindictive reneging of funding for North Launceston Football Club, and Jane Howlett’s blatant refusal to answer questions about TasRacing promoting Liberal election policy during the election campaign.
It was only when the threat of parliamentary consequences became apparent that censured Minister Nick Duigan finally tried to apologise for his actions.
While the Greens have rightly called out Jeremy Rockliff’s latest indiscretion, their criticism is hollow. They voted for Jeremy Rockliff to continue as Premier – despite being warned and fully aware of his terrible integrity record.
Tasmanians deserve better.
They should have a government that operates with integrity and honesty, but the Premier’s response is just more proof Jeremy Rockliff’s Liberals cannot be trusted.
While Jeremy Rockliff wishes it would, this issue won’t go away over Christmas. Labor will continue to hold the Premier and his untrustworthy Government accountable for their actions.
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