I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
I salute all my Federal and State colleagues here today, each and every one of them a champion for the people of Tasmania.
And I want to give a special shout out to the volunteers and campaign workers here with us, as well as all those working across the state as we speak: people knocking on doors, making phone calls and spreading the word.
Last year, we came together to celebrate 120 years of Tasmanian Labor.
Through every one of those years, Labor has relied on the energy, passion and dedication of true believers like you.
As leaders and members and candidates, we all stand on the shoulders of people who put up their hand and put in the hours.
True believers who carry the Labor message to every part of the community.
And that’s never been more important.
Because in tough contests like this election, at a time when people are busier than ever and the media they consume is more fragmented than ever.
Real conversations – face to face, door-to-door – are more powerful than ever.
That’s where every minute of the next 12 days matters – and every Labor volunteer can be the difference.
That’s what the next 12 days are about: Tasmanians talking to Tasmanians about Labor’s positive plans for jobs and housing, skills, services – and the cost of living.
That’s how Labor can win, and will win this election.
Friends
We know how Labor can win in Tasmania – and we know why Tasmania needs Labor to win.
Because there are a lot of Tasmanians who are under pressure right now.
That’s why – as a Federal Labor Government – we’re strengthening Medicare.
We’ve tripled the bulk-billing incentive and have opened new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in Devonport, Hobart and Launceston – so more Tasmanians can see a doctor for free.
We’re helping people with chronic conditions save money with cheaper medicines.
We’re taking pressure off family budgets with cheaper child care and the largest increase to rent assistance in 30 years.
We’re holding the big supermarkets to account – to make sure that Tasmanian farmers and Tasmanian shoppers get a fair deal.
We’ve helped thousands of Tasmanians train for new jobs through fee-free TAFE.
We’ve supported back-to-back increases in the minimum wage.
We’ve delivered an historic pay rise for aged care workers and we’ve got wages moving again.
We want people to earn more – and we want people to keep more of what they earn.
Which is why, from 1 July, we’re delivering a tax cut for every Tasmanian taxpayer.
And 9 out of 10 Tasmanian workers get a bigger tax cut under Labor than they would have under the Liberals.
Helping people with their cost of living is our Federal Government’s number one priority.
And I know helping Tasmanians with their cost of living will be Rebecca White’s number one priority as Premier.
Tasmanians know Rebecca White, they know she’s a person of substance.
A leader with the conviction to fight for what she believes in – and the strength of character to see it through.
Rebecca isn’t running for Premier for the title or the trappings of office, her team aren’t seeking Government to just occupy the space.
Rebecca White wants to be the Premier of Tasmania – so she can deliver for the people she serves and the state she loves.
That’s the sense of purpose and urgency that drives her – a determination to create more opportunities for Tasmanians here in Tasmania.
To go to uni, or TAFE and find a good job, without having to move interstate.
To save for a home of their own, in their hometown.
To know the security of strong Medicare, good hospitals and decent aged care.
That’s the difference between a Labor Party that knows people need help here and now.
And a dysfunctional Liberal Government that is going through this campaign pretending to discover problems that it has spent 10 years creating.
A Liberal Government asking for a second decade in power.
After the endless chaos and conflict and confusion of their third term, they’re asking people to reward them with a fourth term.
As if the first 10 years was just a warm-up, a dress rehearsal.
And they’re up to the same tricks in Canberra.
The same Liberal Party who wasted a decade in Government fighting each other about whether climate change was real, instead of investing in renewable energy now say they want to build nuclear reactors all over Australia.
There’s a reason they didn’t do it during their 9 years in Government.
It’s because nuclear power is the most expensive form of new energy – and it’s the slowest to build.
It doesn’t make sense for our economy – or our environment.
It doesn’t help with cost of living – and it doesn’t help with climate change.
For decades, Tasmania has shown Australia that renewable energy is the answer.
Not some far-off dream – a concrete, reliable and affordable reality.
And our Government is investing in new jobs and new projects – like green hydrogen in Bell Bay and community batteries in Howrah and Shorewell Park.
Because we see Tasmania as vital and central to our vision for Australia as a renewable energy superpower.
By contrast, the Liberals’ Nuclear Fantasy isn’t a plan to do something – it’s an excuse for doing nothing.
An alibi for inaction – a new stage of denial.
In fact, nuclear power is a lot like the Liberal Party.
No help to anyone today, completely wrong for Australia’s future – and notorious for waste that takes forever to clean up.
Labor is the party of the light on the hill – the Liberals want Australia to glow in the dark.
Now, I say this to Tasmanians.
After a decade in office, why would anyone think they are going to be better in their second decade?
The reason why this third election in just six years is being held is because they couldn’t govern themselves.
People voted for Premier Hodgman and they got Premier Gutwein.
They voted for Premier Gutwein and they got Premier Rockliff.
If they vote for Premier Rockliff, will they get Michael Ferguson? Or there is worse, will they get Eric Abetz?
The sequel no one wanted heading to a state parliament near you.
The truth is, if Tasmanians want to change the Government, there is only one way to do it.
And that is by voting Labor.
Whether it’s energy or housing, jobs, Medicare or the cost of living.
Only Labor ever comes to the table with real policies to solve the problem.
That’s what election campaigns are about – because it’s what Government should be about.
The great reward of victory, the privilege of governing is the opportunity to make a positive difference to people’s lives.
Rebecca White understands this, she lives and breathes it.
Her determination to deliver has made her a great Labor leader.
And I know it will drive her every day as a great Labor Premier.
Please welcome, my friend, your leader and the next Premier of Tasmania: Rebecca White!
