Budget scrap to dominate

One week to go for State Parliament

THE major parties have traded barbs ahead of State Parliament’s last sitting week before the six-week winter break.

Each party accused the other of not having a plan – or the ability to successfully execute one.

Along with debate on the Budget bills, the week’s main parliamentary business is expected to be legislation to extend the Government’s grant scheme for first-home buyers by 12 months.

Treasurer Peter Gutwein said the Liberals were pushing ahead with a bold vision.

“We will be getting on with our very positive plan to grow the economy, create jobs, put downward pressure on the cost of living and to ensure that we invest record amounts in essential services.

“On the other hand we just witnessed a couple of weeks of whingeing and moaning by the Labor Party and by the Greens.”

He said Labor had failed to set out a vision for the future.

“What they demonstrated is that they have got no alternative plan,” Mr Gutwein said.

“They didn’t bring down an alternative budget. They whinged about our record spend on infrastructure and then did not change one single project when provided with the opportunity to deliver an alternative.”

But Labor’s David O’Byrne said the previous week in Budget estimates had been “a shocker” for the Government.

“You had a treasurer who is plunging the state into over a billion dollars of net debt and yet cannot articulate a pathway out of that debt.

“You’ve got a health minister who’s basically been caught out flat lying in terms of adolescent mental health beds.

“You’ve got a housing minister who had no idea about the delivery of houses in the next 12 months, let alone the next five years, and major concerns around child protection.

“And you’ve got a Premier who seemingly is disinterested to the point where he could barely answer questions without assistance from his department heads,” Mr O’Byrne said.

The Greens, in turn, are watching the outcome of a hearing expected this week into the proposed development at Lake Malbena in the state’s World Heritage area.

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the Government had joined the tribunal case against the local council’s rejection of the Lake Malbena development application and this could have implications for the Mt Wellington cablecar proposal.

“The Liberals are covertly trying to remove the powers of councils over reserved lands, including the Hobart City Council’s role in the cable-car assessment,” she said.