30 May 2017

Peter Gutwein, Treasurer

Questions that Labor’s so-called ‘economic direction statement’ must answer

Labor’s so-called ‘economic direction statement’ has a lot to live up to.

Ms White needs to tell Tasmanians how she would pay for the promises she and her inexperienced colleagues have made to Tasmanians.

In particular, the ‘economic direction statement’ needs to explain the following -

• Labor opposes our plan to scrap forestry subsidies by opening up our productive forests, therefore they will need to account for $25 million a year in funding to prop up Forestry Tasmania.
• Mr Bacon said on ABC TV News on Friday, that the economic direction statement would outline Labor’s public sector wages policy.  What is it?  A wage increase of just one per cent would cost $25 million per year.
• Labor has called for more funding for child protection.  A failure to show how they would provide additional funding would undercut their dishonest scare campaign.
• Labor claims there is a so-called ‘jobs crisis’, even though the unemployment rate is the second lowest of all states.  What is Labor’s comprehensive jobs plan?
• On the weekend, Shane Broad called for more funding for the West Coast Wilderness Railway.  How much is Labor proposing to commit?
• Labor and the Unions have been calling for an additional 100 paramedics.  That’s estimated to cost up to $15 million a year, how will they pay for it?
• Yesterday, Ms White said on Tas Talks that the ‘economic directions statement’ would outline four years of budget surpluses.  How will she be able to do that and still spend over half a billion dollars?*
• Given their criticisms, Labor must outline a clear funding commitment for the Bridgewater Bridge, the Hobart STEM proposal and the Northern Suburbs Light Rail.  If not, their criticisms carry no weight.
• Ms White has said there shouldn’t be an unallocated capital provision in the budget.  Surely she’s not so inexperienced that she would attempt to mix up capital and recurrent funding and claim that she can use the unallocated one off capital funding for recurrent spending on thing like wages?

Ms White and her inexperienced colleagues have to call their response an ‘economic direction statement’ because they are too inexperienced to deliver a real alternative budget.  Everyone knows that whatever Labor releases today, it won’t add up.

* Brian Carlton: “…your reply will include the provision for surplus budgets over the forward estimates?”

Rebecca White: “it will.”

More Media Releases from Peter Gutwein

More Media Releases from the Treasurer