Michael Ferguson’s current budget deficit is 50 per cent worse than at the height of COVID.
As if this weren’t enough to prove he has no credibility when it comes to the state’s finances, his bizarre and false claims about Labor’s fiscal strategy show once and for all he simply has no idea what he’s doing.
I published the full strategy yesterday afternoon on Labor’s website for any member of the public to view and provided a copy to Treasury.
The Premier’s statement, by contrast, contains clear falsehoods. The Liberals have announced a new tourism tax, and failed to rule out a GP tax. There are serious questions for the Premier to answer about whether he has provided a misleading statement to Treasury.
The fact is Tasmania had no net debt when the Liberals came to office. Ten years later, Tasmania is headed for $6.1 billion of debt and Treasury itself has warned that the state’s total debt will soon be “the second highest level of all states, with only Victoria higher.”
If Michael Ferguson spent more time doing his job, rather than launching strange and obviously false attacks on the opposition, perhaps he wouldn’t have driven the state into record debt.
Rebecca White MP
Labor Leader