The Hodgman Government is committed to strong, disciplined financial management so that we can invest more into essential frontline services like health, education and protecting the community.
When we were first elected four years ago, we were left with over $1 billion in deficits by the Labor-Green minority government. We worked hard to fix the budget and we posted a surplus four years ahead of schedule and delivered the best budget result in ten years.
I can confirm today that Tasmania will remain in surplus for the current 2017-18 financial year and the forecast result for 2017-18 is expected to be slightly better than what was anticipated when the budget was first released.
However, each year a supplementary appropriation bill is needed to seek Parliament's approval for additional spending during the financial year. This year's Supplementary Appropriation for 2017-18 includes new spending on our response to the fruit fly outbreak and additional health and education spending with the vast majority of funding already publicly announced and included in the Revised Estimates Report in February.
The additional spending is offset by Australian Government funding and supported by growing State revenues.
The Government is committed to spending less than we earn, keeping our economy strong and investing in what matters and that's what this Supplementary Appropriation shows.