Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

I am not making this up, Member for Bass. This is real. This is what you are ripping out of our state of Tasmania. This is money coming out of the state of Tasmania, along with the NBN not being delivered. Tasmanians deserve better. I will hold you to account on your commitments to increase funding in Tasmania, and I really hope that happens.

We have had some interesting comments from our state government recently, which has announced some stimulus to turn the Tasmanian economy around, which already is showing some green shoots coming through. There are great opportunities, as I said at the beginning of my speech, and we should be talking together about what we can do for our state. We should be talking about how we can improve the state of Tasmania, not talking about how dire it is or the problems that exist. Rather than talking about all the issues that Tasmania has we should be looking at the opportunities of those industries that are growing, such as the salmon industry and the aquaculture industry. I have plenty of them in my electorate and I visit them regularly. There are great plans for expansion underway in Macquarie Harbour, in the member for Braddon's electorate. Industry does continue to grow in Tasmania and there are industries that are thriving. What we need to do is work together to invest in them. We need to be investing in the state of Tasmania, not ripping money out or being dishonest with the Tasmanian people, as we have seen from the new government, about what is going on in Tasmania and what will happen to the Tasmanian people under the current government.

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