Mr BAYLEY question to PREMIER, Mr ROCKLIFF
To get the vote you need on the Macquarie Point stadium, you wrote to the member for Huon and committed to:
… reducing public non‑financial corporations net borrowings between 2026‑27 and 2028‑29 by a cumulative total of $500 million (broadly equating to the Mac Point borrowings of $490.7 million).
You’ve said essential services won’t be sacrificed to pay for the stadium, while at the same time committing to cut the very public service jobs that provide those services. Now you’re putting the services Tasmania’s government businesses provide on the stadium chopping block. Tasmanians know they can’t take you for your word. This is an opportunity to be honest with the public. Specifically, are you planning to forgo building new homes by Homes Tasmania in the forward years? Are you prioritising a roofed stadium before Tasmanians unable to put a roof over their own heads?
ANSWER
Honourable Speaker, I thank the honourable member for his question. The answer to that is no. We are prioritising delivering the social services that Tasmanians care about, whether that be schools, teachers, hospitals, health facilities across Tasmania, community safety, of course, roads, bridges and all the social infrastructure that is important and Tasmanians quite rightly deserve.
Why do I say we’re always prioritising that? Because our record speaks for itself. We have employed more frontline staff across our health system, within our schools, right across our investment in keeping our young people safe and supported to thrive, and when it comes to investment in our emergency services as well. We can do both when it comes to investing in the enabling infrastructure that allows us to grow our economy, keep people employed and increase employment in fact.
I acknowledge the workers as well, Mr Willie, who are in the gallery today and I acknowledge their contribution across our public service, but also the contribution of every employee in Tasmania and over the course of the last 10 years, there was 51,000 more of them contributing to the Tasmanian economy.
This is about being very open, sensibly managing our budget and of course expecting our government businesses to also manage their budgets accordingly as well. You can read online that in Victoria there are significant savings across the public service there, for example – and hank goodness we’re not in the situation of Victoria. We will manage our finances on the back of significant investment to keep people alive, safe and well through the pandemic, but now we need to ensure that we have the right sized public service. It’s not prioritising one over the other. We will always prioritise the essential services, but we need to invest in enabling infrastructure to keep our economy growing, which it is.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION
Mr BAYLEY – A supplementary question, Speaker?
The SPEAKER – I will hear the supplementary question.
Mr BAYLEY – With respect, Premier, that was a pretty slippery answer. You answered no, and then went on to list schools, teachers, health facilities, roads and bridges, none of which are delivered by our GBEs or public non‑financial corporations. I ask again, specifically, are you planning to forgo building new homes by Homes Tasmania? Is Homes Tasmania’s borrowings one of the things that’s going to be managed downwards over the coming years, and what will be the impact on their capacity to build homes?
The SPEAKER – Honourable Premier.
Mr ROCKLIFF – Thank you for the question. We will continue building homes in Tasmania and any investment in the stadium will not sacrifice any homes being built. We’re going to continue with our very strong plan when it comes to putting roofs over people’s heads, because I’ve always said that every single Tasmanian has the fundamental right to be safe and have a roof over their heads. That’s what we’ve been working through. We had a conversation ‑ Dr Broad was talking about supply of housing just yesterday in one of the debates about –
Dr Broad – UTAS.
Mr ROCKLIFF – UTAS. Thank you. See, I do listen to you occasionally. You’re right on supply, I have to say, and that’s what we’ve been doing very diligently –
Mr Bayley – So, Homes Tasmania won’t have to reduce their borrowings, is that what you’re saying?
Mr ROCKLIFF – over the course of the last few years.
