Question Time 04/03/26
[10.34 a.m.]
According to the financial sustainability report released last week, Tasmania's financial position is unsustainable and, if unaddressed, the budget will rapidly deteriorate. Treasury identified that the economic impacts for repairing the budget to be the smallest when there is reduced operating expenditure, higher state taxation and lower infrastructure expenditure, and these are all used together. That would ensure that no one sector or community group bears a disproportionate share of the burden of budget repair. Do you agree with that assessment by your own department? If so, how can you rule out higher taxation like you did in your state of the state address yesterday?
ANSWER
Honourable Speaker, I thank the honourable member for her question and attention to detail about the state of the state address, which I appreciate, but the word I think most telling within your question was the word 'unaddressed'.
Ms Burnet - 'Unsustainable' it might have been.
Mr ROCKLIFF - 'If unaddressed, it's unsustainable'.
Mr Willie - That's kind of what you've been doing.
Mr ROCKLIFF - Every time there's a microphone in front of a Labor member about what's their alternative, it's crickets.
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER - Order.
Ms BURNET - Point of order, Speaker, Standing Order 45, relevance.
The SPEAKER - For the sake of the House, I draw the Premier's attention to relevance to the question. I ask other members, especially of the opposition, that you have five other questions that you could be asking the questions of yourself, so I bring the Premier back to the original question.
Mr ROCKLIFF - Thank you, honourable member, for the question. I also thank the honourable member for the interjection which I enjoyed answering. When it comes to matters being unaddressed, we are addressing them, and as I said this morning on Mr Compton's program, Treasury and our government are working very closely on the Budget to be delivered on 21 May. We had an announcement yesterday around that sustainability in terms of departmental and machinery of government changes, but what the fiscal sustainability report had not factored in was the uplift in Health of some $700 million which we fought hard for. It might have gone unnoticed but we also had a small state adjustment for the first time ever, which is tremendous, and that will be also bedded in beyond the five years if the federal government have any compassion or common sense.
Ms BURNET - Point of order, Speaker, relevance again, Standing Order 45. He is not addressing the question I asked.
Mr ROCKLIFF - It is relevant, with respect, honourable member, because what is also missing is the -
The SPEAKER - Sorry, to assist the honourable Deputy Speaker, your question was quite broad. I appreciate that your question at the end was a bit more pointed, but your intro does allow a bit of preamble and we do not know what the Premier is going to be saying, so I will ask the Premier to respond, please.
Mr ROCKLIFF - The other areas that were not factored in was the uplift in GST and the GST guarantee beyond 2028-29, if my memory serves me correctly, and then coming into the early 2030s we have Marinus coming on line, which we expect will increase -
The SPEAKER - The honourable Premier's time has expired.
Supplementary Question
Ms BURNET - A supplementary question, Speaker?
The SPEAKER - I will hear the supplementary question.
Ms BURNET - I draw the Premier back to the three areas. Is the Premier going to consider reducing operating expenditure, higher state taxation and lower infrastructure expenditure? Those three are key to bringing in financial security.
The SPEAKER - Honourable Premier.
Mr ROCKLIFF - I thank the honourable member, for her question. We have already lowered our infrastructure profile. I announced about 12 months ago the right-sizing, right structure and right focus of the public service and that was evident in yesterday's state of the state address. I am very mindful of the potential damage that higher taxes can provide to our community and constricting the economy, but also I am mindful of Tasmanian households when it comes to higher taxes. Tasmanians are doing it tough with respect to cost-of-living pressures and national inflation has resulted in higher interest rates in recent times. That is a big impact on families with mortgages. I am mindful to try to get the balance right. What we will not be doing is slashing and burning and -
The SPEAKER - The honourable Premier's time has expired.