White sees ups and

How would you describe your year?

It’s been a big year: highs and lows all in the one year. I’d have to say and obviously the election was the key. Low and high simultaneously — high in that we won 5 per cent more of the vote and we got more members elected to the parliament. We’ve got a terrific dynamic team now but the low was that we weren’t successful. I was upset that we can’t deliver on the commitments that we made and that I see things happening that continue to upset me, that this government’s not delivering on. So the year has been a big one.

Speaking of the election result, what would you have done differently in hindsight?

I don’t think you can do anything differently now, but what we’ve learned will aid us as we go forward to the next election. We’ll build on the numbers that we’ve got, given that we’ve got two members in every electorate and that gives us much greater coverage and better representation of the community and understanding what they need.

We’ve also got a really dynamic team who are committed to representing the community for a long time and that’s a terrific place to start from. We’ve got a suite of policies we’ll continue to build from, engage with the community.

You’ll be leading the team to the next election?

Absolutely, I’m committed to take us to the next election. I feel I’ve got their support and the support of the wider party and we’re in good shape. I think questions will probably be asked about whether Will Hodgman will lead the Liberals to the next election given he’s looking quite tired and there are contenders nipping at his heels no doubt.

What would Labor do to solve the state’s health crisis?

There are so many things that I would love to be able to do and this is one of the frustrations of being in opposition primarily. We know from the KPMG report that still remains hidden that there is a $100 million dollar black hole in health, so we need to address the chronic underfunding. We need to tackle it in three different ways. One is preventive health and community health. Keeping people well and healthy and out of hospital. Primary health services: making sure people can access a GP or those primary healthcare services so they’re not getting sicker and sicker and ending up in the emergency department. And of course the acute response making sure hospitals are resourced so they can operate 24/7.

We’ve had quite a few readers ask us about the public sector pay issue. How much of a pay rise would Labor give to public servants and how would you pay for it?

It’s not about predetermining an outcome whether it be 2 per cent, 3 per cent or 500 per cent. It’s about saying: ‘Let’s talk about what’s happening in your workplace. Let’s talk about the conditions you need to do your job well, let’s talk about remuneration so we have competitive wages so we can recruit and retain a workforce here to deliver those essential services that we need’.

We have said quite clearly and we said this before the election that we would scrap that 2 per cent wages cap and we would negotiate in good faith given times have changed, the Australian economy has recovered from the global financial crisis. Apparently we’re in a golden age here in Tasmania according to the

Treasurer and there are budget surpluses now in the forward estimates so things are different and we also need to respect the pressure that the workforce is under — particularly in the health system and remunerate them so that we don’t lose people out of the system.

DAVID KILLICK: Is having Sue Hickey on side the key to Labor getting its best outcomes in Parliament?

REBECCA WHITE: I think the parliament at the moment is actually a good parliament, given that it does have to consider every single matter that comes before it on its merit. You don’t have a government that can push through things on its numbers alone and never consult — which is what we saw in the last four years.

I will certainly be working with her as we will with anyone who wants to help achieve the Labor agenda — which is about fixing the health crisis, providing more training skills for young people and people changing careers in Tasmania, to get employment here, investing in infrastructure that supports our economy and our community.

DAVID KILLICK: Does Labor have any thoughts on what we could do to cut down on bullying in our schools and online?

REBECCA WHITE: It does come down, I think, to having more resourcing in schools more social workers and school psychologists as well as other alternative education programs but it also requires the Government to progress its cyber bullying legislation that was talked about before the March election. So until you change the culture, until we have appropriate laws to provide disincentives, in fact penalties, if someone is found to have done the wrong thing, that’s going to continue to be a problem. We’re waiting for that legislation.

DAVID KILLICK: Are our current economic results the result of good policy by the Government or good luck?

REBECCA WHITE: Look no doubt macroeconomic conditions have helped Tasmania significantly, and the Tasmania Report Saul Eslake re- leased last week showed that from 2013 those conditions started to alter and the Tasmanian economy started to improve. So that was before the Liberal Government was elected. We’re an export-orientated economy so if the dollar is low our products are more competitive. It also means we’re more competitive as a tourist destination so people can come here and it’s affordable for them to visit Tasmania. We’ve seen more GST come to this state than the Government even forecast. They’ve had much more money than they ever predicted. House prices have gone up. Stamp duty goes up so they’ve received much more in state revenue than they ever forecast as well. So there’s no doubt they have benefited from global and Australian economic conditions that have improved since the global financial crisis. I don’t think Peter Gutwein can point to a single economic reform that he has championed that has changed the nature of our economy or our community.

DAVID KILLICK: Is it time for Parliament to have another look at voluntary assisted dying laws?

REBECCA WHITE: Look I think it’ll probably happen but it has to be done in a way that recognises there were flaws with the previous Bill that meant it didn’t pass the parliament. There continue to be concerns raised about the drafting of particular bills whether it be here or in other states.

There’s no point continuing to put something up that keeps failing. If we’re serious about getting this right the work needs to be done. There has to be consultation with those parties that are not ready to support it yet to make sure they feel comfortable with it because it affects all of us. It is really important that I know a lot of people feel really passionate about this. By presuming that because the Speaker supports something and therefore it’s a fait accompli it’s going to get through parliament, is the wrong approach to take.