Premier Rockliff has failed to show the leadership Tasmanians needed in this budget. His choice to allow deep cuts to services, and the pain Tasmanians will experience as a result, will define his legacy.
When Jeremy Rockliff became Premier in April 2022, Tasmania was at a critical juncture. The State had just come out of the COVID emergency period. We were facing some clear challenges – as well as some real opportunities.
As a new Premier, he could have shown real leadership by setting a direction for the state that prioritised people in need. Instead, he’s spent the past four years largely sitting on the sidelines.
He’s watched on as more people have descended into homelessness, as wait times for ambulances and emergency departments have gone up every year, and the budget has gone from bad to broken.
Premier Rockliff could have had the courage, in this budget, to honour his promise of leading a government with heart.
Instead, Jeremy Rockliff has continued to sit by, rudderless, as Eric Abetz makes $1.5 billion of brutal cuts to essential services in a warped attempt to fix a problem the Premier’s inaction has created.
Instead of stopping the new stadium build, making corporations pay their fair share, and reining in unnecessary spending, Premier Rockliff is again failing to take action and be a visionary and caring leader.
Tasmanians who need and deserve essential services will pay the painful price of the Premier’s failure to be the leader this state needs. This austerity budget, and its generational consequences, will define Jeremy Rockliff’s legacy.
