David O’Byrne’s embarrassing misunderstanding of Tasmania’s infrastructure investment highlights why Labor cannot be trusted to manage a single project, let alone the State’s future.
Mr O’Byrne either does not understand modelling of national comparisons on infrastructure spend or is deliberately misleading the public.
The fact is the Hodgman majority Liberal Government is investing $3.6 billion in the intergenerational infrastructure Tasmania needs, with the 2019-20 budget 250% bigger than the last year of the Labor-Green Government.
The 2019-20 State Budget shows we are investing $200 million more on infrastructure this year compared to last.
Mr O’Byrne fails to understand the report doesn’t include the Government’s record equity investments of $800 million into our government businesses, such as TasWater, TasRail and TasIrrigation; nor does it include our nation-leading private investment growth into construction and infrastructure around the State.
Labor are hypocrites. Earlier this year Labor claimed we were spending too much on infrastructure. Today they say we should spend more. Last week the current Labor Leader told the RACT forum that she would spend less on infrastructure.
But the joint gold medal winners for hypocrisy on infrastructure are David and Michelle O’Byrne. David O’Byrne as Infrastructure Minister spent all the money previously budgeted for the Bridgewater Bridge without building a single lane and Michelle O’Byrne left the RHH Redevelopment in a mess, cut the helipad and never laid a single brick.
With nation leading business conditions and 15,000 jobs created since we came to Government, we are delivering the infrastructure projects Tasmanians need, now and for the future.
More Media Releases from Michael Ferguson
More Media Releases from the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport