The Liberal-Lambie budget disaster is now a month away, and its high time that the Government comes clean about whether the efficiency dividend will increase past $300 million.
The $300 million of cuts over the next three years, poorly disguised as an ‘efficiency dividend’, were announced in last year’s budget.
With a record billion-dollar budget deficit set to be handed down, record debt, infrastructure blowouts headlined by the Spirits debacle, and $1.7 billion in unfunded election promises, is Treasurer Ferguson planning to further slash public services due to his budget mismanagement?
We’ve already discovered through leaked memos and RTI requests that the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management have been forced to cut $35 million, which the department says impact frontline service delivery. It has also been revealed that the Health Department are applying vacancy control measures, which has placed at least 700 jobs on the chopping block.
But how deep will it go? How much are the government cutting from education? And will the government be upfront with Tasmanians and rule out increasing the efficiency dividend?So far, the Liberals and their Jacqui Lambie Network Coalition partners have failed to provide transparency or show accountability for these sweeping cuts.
After providing their unconditional support for the Liberals’ budget and the $300 million of cuts it will contain, the Jacqui Lambie Network and David O’Byrne voted to keep the details of those cuts hidden from Tasmanians during Parliament’s last session.
The Jacqui Lambie Network said they stood for transparency – but every time they’re given a chance to prove it, they back in the Liberals instead.
Labor will not stop trying to get to the bottom of what these cuts will mean for our schools, hospitals, and emergency services.
Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer
