Ms ROSOL (Bass) – Deputy Speaker, before I begin, I seek leave to table a document on behalf of Dr Rosalie Woodruff. The document has already been circulated.
Leave granted.
Ms ROSOL – Deputy Speaker, I rise to speak this evening about the current budget submission process the government is conducting for the 2026-27 Budget. We have just had two days of debate about the interim Budget for 2025-26. A repeated theme has been the coming cuts, signalled by the Treasurer’s own words, where he has said he will be cutting 2800 jobs.
Then there are the many budget lines for services that just peter out into blanks or fall off a cliff into nothingness. They, too, are cuts. However, there is another clear signal of the government’s plan to cut funding, this time in community service sectors. The signal is in the pre-budget consultation form, which has been sent to community organisations as part of the budget submissions process. The form asks organisations to respond to five questions:
- Which programs or projects could be refocused to deliver core outcomes with more streamlined resources or refined focus?
- Are there initiatives or investments that could be reconsidered, helping balance the budget now without losing sight of long‑term goals?
- Are there programs or services that could be transitioned out as the needs of Tasmanians evolve and priorities shift?
- Where could government activities be recalibrated to operate more effectively while still meeting essential needs?
- For any new funding ideas, what savings or offsets could be identified elsewhere to ensure the overall budget remains balanced?
Multiple community services organisations have raised concerns with me about the approach taken by the government in this round of budget submissions and with these questions. They have read clearly what the government is saying between the lines and see these questions as all being focused on finding cuts for the government so they can save money. One organisation paraphrased the questions for me this way:
- What programs can you cut back on?
- What programs can you cut out altogether?
- What programs should be cut to cover the cost of any new programs?
Organisations have noticed this year’s process is a departure from the approach taken in previous years, including for the 2025‑26 Budget.
There is a distinct change in tone and approach. Previous years took a consultative approach, inviting organisers to share about the context of their service and their ideas for improvements the government could make. It welcomed the sharing of options for how to fund services and sort opinions about government charges and taxes. It took a big‑picture approach that tapped into the wealth of experience and knowledge that is held within community service organisations. Not this year. This year the government have cut straight to the chase. ‘Tell us what to cut,’ they say, ‘and don’t bother with anything else, we’re not interested.’ Or, in the words of someone in the community service sector:
The focus has shifted from consultation for understanding, to consultation for fiscal improvements and trade‑offs. We are deeply concerned that we may see a reduction in funding across our sector as the government seeks to address the budget deficit.
I have heard the shock, distress and anxiety felt by organisations who are working so hard with already tight budgets to meet ever growing levels of need. The government’s approach is disrespectful and cold. Community service organisations are the smiling face, the warm handshake, the caring heart, the soft place to land that people who are doing it tough, so desperately need. These organisations are the hands through which the government does their work in the community. To dismiss the value and essential nature of what they do, is to minimise and invalidate both the organisations and the many Tasmanians they support.
We have a debt problem, but it’s not the fault of Tasmanians and it’s not the fault of community organisations who, quite frankly, work miracles for people with very little funding. It’s completely unacceptable for the government to turn community service organisations into the budget fall guys, crashing down on them, and crushing them and the people who rely on them. The government must do better.
I still have 22 seconds, haven’t I? They could start by looking at the corporate welfare they so like to sprinkle around and find savings there, that won’t result in the neediest in Tasmania missing out. It’s unacceptable for Tasmanians to pay the cost of the folly of the stadium that will drag the state into deeper and deeper debt. The government must do better.
