Ms BURNET (Clark) – Deputy Speaker, there is broken promises abound in this parliament, so where do we start? On display during the life of this parliament has been a litany of broken promises and poor processes by the government.
We go first to the mandatory precommitment card for poker machines, which has been abandoned by this government. It has been one of the biggest betrayals of people who were holding on to the hope that there would be significant change. We had the Liquor and Gaming Commission suggesting that this is process was possible and doable. It was nation-leading, and what do we see? We see the absolute abandonment, backflip, dishonesty, denial and dismissal by the Premier. Unfortunately for the Premier, this will be a lasting stain on the government that he is leading.
Former treasurer Michael Ferguson’s model for pokies would have been nation leading. It would have saved lives and livelihoods, given kids a better life, benefited our community and been better for the economy. What the Premier did was rip this all to shreds. It is a travesty that will entrench disadvantage and poverty among vulnerable Tasmanians and it will ruin families and futures.
We have a minority government and it is an arrogant approach not to consider how the processes of this parliament might be better. We have the opportunity to work effectively across this parliament and yet last week was an appalling admission and display of how not to do that. We had development assessment panels rammed through, we had Stony Rise rammed through, spot rezoning and giving greater power to the minister for Planning. It is of great concern that the parliament and the government is paying lip service to those concerned about good planning processes and equally to those petitioners we heard of today, over 4000 people, about the process and lack of respect for those concerns raised by many people in relation to fish farming.
The fact that we have no end date to closing the Ashley Youth Detention Centre is one of the most shattering of broken promises. The one promise that the Premier could deliver and should be delivering is that end date, but we have no end date.
It seems ironic that the only promise the Premier seems hell-bent on delivering – which will have huge ramifications for this state and our bottom line, particularly when we are facing a worsening credit rating in years to come – is the dud, costly deal to build the Macquarie Point stadium at all costs. So many people will be disadvantaged. People are facing poor health outcomes, education outcomes, there is a cost-of-living crisis and here is the Premier backing the idea of building the Macquarie Point stadium. It is not good enough. These priorities and these broken promises are a stain on this government.
