Dean Winter has announced a sweeping $1 billion savings plan, calling it Labor’s answer to what he describes as Tasmania’s “worst-ever” budget crisis.
The Labor leader released his party’s fiscal strategy today, warning that Tasmania is on the road to bankruptcy after 11 years of Liberal management.
“Last week, Treasury effectively declared Tasmania in a budget crisis,” Winter said.
“A budget crisis that has been created by one political party, the Liberal Party and one premier. Jeremy Rockliff.”
Winter’s plan centres on immediate action through what Labor calls its ‘10-point plan for budget repair’, targeting everything from senior executive roles to government advertising costs.
The party says it has identified $550.9 million in operational savings and $470 million in capital savings across the forward estimates.
Among the key measures, Labor would scrap 25 senior executive service positions, saving $25 million and cut the government’s communications staff for a $5 million saving.
A $40 million cut to government advertising and a $50.8 million cap on departmental travel budgets are also on the table.
Winter’s biggest proposal would see Tasmania’s stake in the Marinus Link project handed over to the Victorian and federal governments, freeing up the state’s $200 million contribution.
And, at the heart of Labor’s strategy, is a new debt reduction fund.
“Our debt reduction fund will ensure that every piece of new revenue goes back to paying down debt,” Winter said. “The debt that the Liberals have racked up.”
Labor also plans to bring together public sector workers, business leaders and community representatives at a budget repair roundtable to find solutions collectively.
“I can’t be more serious about how difficult this is going to be,” Winter said.
“We are now in a budget crisis that has been created by the Liberals and there needs to be a plan to get out of it.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff this week again defended the Liberals’ “sensible pathway to surplus”, outlined in the state budget released before the election was called.
“As I’ve said many times, we could get to surplus very quickly,” Rockliff said.
“But in order to do that we’d have to do what the Labor and the Green government did when they were back in power … sack nurses and put hospital beds in storage and close wards,” he said.
“I won’t do that. $10 million a day is going into our health system … now I could take that to $7 million dollars a day and get a surplus very quickly. But I won’t do it.”
The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), which previously warned that the Liberals’ debt and deficit levels were unsustainable, has welcomed Labor’s plan.
TCCI CEO Michael Bailey said fixing the state’s finances is one of the biggest issues for the business community ahead of the election.
“Whoever forms the next government is going to have to be incredibly disciplined with spending, because it is going to take a number of years to get the budget back on track,” he said.
“We believe that budget repair, rather than more spending, is critical at this election and our state needs an ongoing public debate about the best way to put the state budget back on a sustainable path.”
