After two years of a Hodgman Liberal Government, the budget - and the State - is now back on track.
Because we took the difficult decisions to put the budget back on track, we can now reinvest in priority areas, including protecting the vulnerable in our community.
The 2016-17 State Budget allocates $600,000 to the Office of the Public Guardian.
The Public Guardian promotes, speaks for, and protects the rights and interests of people living with disability and acts as the guardian of people living with disability when appointed by the Guardianship and Administration Board.
The allocation consists of $100,000 per year in recurrent funding to support the office to meet increasing cost and demand pressures, and $200,000 in one-off funding to be provided for 2016-17 to develop a case management system to improve efficiency and reporting capabilities.
Without the timely intervention of the Office there is a risk that Tasmania’s most vulnerable citizens will not get the support they require, placing their health, well-being and safety at risk, and I am pleased the Government’s 2016-17 State Budget recognises this and allows the Public Guardian to continue to support Tasmanians.