The Premier, Lara Giddings, said Peter Gutwein had surprised no one with his desperate chicken-little performance on Budget day.

"Mr Gutwein has shown time and time again that he doesn't understand even the basics of budgeting, so instead he runs around claiming that the sky is falling," Ms Giddings said.

 

"Last week he inferred that nearly every state in the country of producing works of budget fiction because he failed to understand a well-accepted method for forecasting GST revenues.

 

"Now he is rehashing his favourite furphy of all - that we somehow cannot pay the superannuation of public servants.

 

"That is absolute rubbish. The Tasmanian Government has always, and will continue to have provision to fund the superannuation of retiring public servants."

 

Ms Giddings said Don Challen's reported comments reflected exactly what the State Government has been saying for some time.

 

"During the height of the Global Financial Crisis we used the hay in the barn to stimulate the economy and bolster core services.

 

"That was the sensible approach to take at the time, in fact, it occurred while Mr Challen was head of Treasury.

 

"What no one predicted was just how sharply our GST and state-own revenues would fall away in the wake of the GFC, to the point where we have now lost $1.8 billion in revenues across the Forward Estimates.

 

"That is why we have taken responsible action to rebuild the state's finances - action that Peter Gutwein and the Liberals have opposed at every step of the way.

 

"Despite our difficult financial situation we will continue to meet our superannuation liabilities both now and into the future."