The inexperienced Bec White and her bumbling accomplice Scott Bacon have now made three basic and serious Budget errors in the space of a few weeks.
1) Yesterday, wrongly claiming that health funding falls this year, “The Government’s spending less in Tasmania’s hospitals,” Mr Bacon said.
In fact, Budget to Budget health spending is up $131.3 million in 2017-18 alone and even on projected actuals there is an increase next year (Budget Paper No.1 (2016-17 and 2017-18) General Government Expenses from Transactions by Purpose).
In his incompetence, Mr Bacon overlooked $100 million additional health funding which is detailed clearly in Budget Paper No.1, page 59, and further laid out in the Tasmanian Health Service and Department of Health and Human Services Budget Chapters.
2) On Thursday, wrongly claiming that the record $658 million health funding contains $329 million of Mersey Community Hospital funding. Simply, it doesn't.
“The $650 million ‘injection’ the Government is hoping to trick Tasmanians with includes more than $329 million in Federal funding for the Mersey and funding for beds Health Minister Michael Ferguson has already announced.” Rebecca White, (25/5/17).
3) On 20 April 2017, claimed the Government is “including in their calculation for record spending on health the $600 million for capital improvements at the Royal Hobart Hospital,” ABC Morning Show (20/4/17). Again, it doesn't.
The simple fact is, Labor can't pretend to be an alternative Government when they can't even get their numbers right.
If the Premier or Treasurer had made such a string of serious mistakes Labor would be calling on them to resign.
The is now a massive amount of pressure on Ms White and Mr Bacon to produce a fully costed and funded alternative Budget, including a detailed operating statement, that shows how they will pay for all the promises they've made over their past three years in opposition.