This month’s state budget presents a massive test for new Treasurer Guy Barnett.

If the Treasurer is serious about reining in the minority Rockliff Government’s out-of-control finances he must outline if this year’s budget will break the Liberals’ record streak of debt increases at a point in the forward estimates.

When the Liberals came to power in 2014 there was money in the bank. In recent years, they have delivered the biggest deficit and debt figures the state has ever seen.

If Treasurer Barnett can’t demonstrate that he’s got a plan to put an end to ballooning record debt increases, he can’t pretend that he’s any better than his predecessor, who was labelled the worst treasurer of all time.

In his short tenure in charge of Tasmania’s purse strings Treasurer Barnett has reverted to hiding behind phony statements about a return to surplus without any credible evidence.

When the budget is handed down on May 29, Treasurer Barnett will have to put his money where his mouth is. If he’s serious about fixing the Liberals’ budget mismanagement he’ll need prove he can stop the ballooning debt

Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer