ALP plan aims for better, not ‘ normal’
LABOR’S alternative budget would aim to create 35,000 jobs in Tasmania, Labor leader Rebecca White says — but would involve four deficit budgets in a row.
The Opposition Leader delivered Labor’s response to last week’s 2020- 21 state budget in parliament on Tuesday, saying Tasmania should aim to rebuild a better state out of the pandemic rather than aiming for a return to normal.
Labor’s budget response added about $ 415m to predicted government spending over the forward estimates and projected deficit budgets until at least 2023- 24, compared with the two further deficits promised by the government in its budget.
The centrepiece of Labor’s budget reply was its Working for Tasmania job policy, which included a $ 55m Jobs and Innovation fund, plans to rebuild TAFE and to provide
free TAFE courses in areas of critical need.
It also promised more affordable housing, an apprentice subsidy to help train older workers, bolstering the public sector and programs to boost small business, tourism, hospitality and the arts.
Ms White said even accounting for the effect of the pandemic, nearly seven years of Liberal rule had sent Tasmania backwards.
“Normal for too many wasn’t great before this virus, with one in four people living in poverty,” she said.
“Since the Liberals came to power in 2014, elective surgery waiting lists have blown out by 49 per cent, outpatient waiting lists by 64 per cent, public housing waiting lists by 55 per cent, and the number of school leavers engaged in work, training and further study has dropped by 31 per cent.
“Tasmania continues to compare poorly to the rest of Australia on indicators of life expectancy, disposable income, smoking and obesity rates, year 12 completion and good health measures.”
Ms White said that $ 5bn in infrastructure spending was a mirage.
“We saw the Premier attempting to pick up the broken pieces of the economy that existed before the pandemic and hastily sticky tape them back together,” she said.
“Peter Gutwein has promised to build Tasmania out of recession, but his government has shown he’s incapable of building anything.”
Premier and Treasurer Peter Gutwein poured scorn on the Labor response.
“I was pleased that Labor have supported 99.97 per cent of our budget, but then in typical Labor fashion have added $ 400m to the net debt position after whingeing about it for five days and they worsened in the bottom line by nearly a quarter of a billion dollars,” he said.