MATTER OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE - Budget Scrutiny

[11.18 a.m.]

Ms BURNET (Clark) - Honourable Speaker, I move -

That the House take note of the following matter: budget scrutiny.

It was a wise woman who said to me this morning that it is not necessarily what you bring to the table through experience but what you learn along the way that is important. Reflecting on the last three weeks of parliamentary time, which has been used to scrutinise the Budget, I don't think anyone can say they have been very productive nor a great use of time. That's not a criticism of members, but more a criticism of the budget scrutiny process we have inherited.

Having participated in three budget Estimates to date, I agree with the member for Franklin, David O'Byrne, with his recent observations: I think we can do better. The budget Estimates process too often generates heat instead of light. It is politicised and too often disconnected from its primary purpose, which surely is the rigorous scrutiny of the state budget.

That matters because Tasmania right now faces an enormous fiscal challenge. The budget has drifted badly off course under this government. The parliament should be doing everything it can to meaningfully scrutinise the state's finances. A good place to start is to review the budget scrutiny process and the structural impediments non‑government members face. The opposition and crossbench are expected to scrutinise billions of dollars of expenditure armed with little more than the budget papers