Andrew Leigh (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to rise on this important motion discussing the state of the Tasmanian economy. As has been outlined by other speakers in the debate, there are important systemic reasons the Tasmanian economy has struggled over recent decades. Tasmania has been excessively reliant, as Saul Eslake points out, on the production of essentially undifferentiated commodities seeking to compete solely on the basis of price. Saul Eslake talks about the difference in productivity. He points out that the output of goods and services per hour worked is about 8½ per cent lower in Tasmania than on the mainland, which translates into a $3,600 difference in annual per capita gross state product between Tasmania and the rest of Australia. Mr Eslake also points out that there has been a longstanding assumption in some policy circles that Tasmania's problems can be solved by a single big project, such as another pulp mill. He describes this as 'a cargo-cult mentality, not an economic development policy'.

One of the real challenges for Tasmania is in boosting quality and quantity in the education system. Far too few Tasmanians receive a complete school education, up to year 12. If you are looking for a reason Tasmanian productivity is 8½ per cent below mainland productivity, educational attainment is a big part of that. How do you achieve higher levels of educational attainment? One way is to make sure that parents have a bit of extra money on the first day of school. The SchoolKids Bonus provides precisely that—a means tested payment that assists parents with the cost of school. For someone living on the poverty line that $400 or $800—depending on whether your child is in primary or secondary school—is important in making sure that they are able to meet expenses; and it can, in some instances, make the difference between a child staying on at school or dropping out of school. But unfortunately those opposite are cutting the SchoolKids Bonus so they can give a large tax break to mining billionaires. I am not sure how many mining billionaires there are in Tasmania but I would hazard a guess that there are not many.

The abolition of the carbon price and the mining tax will cost $17 billion over the forward estimates. In order to make up for that hole in the budget, those opposite have to cut into services which are important for Tasmanians. They will have to get rid of the SchoolKids Bonus, which matters to Tasmania, and cut back on school funding. We have seen the Prime Minister's toing and froing on the weekend. When you are getting beaten up by your state premier mates and Andrew Bolt, you know you are in serious trouble—and that is where the Prime Minister found himself over the weekend. Of course, his pledge that no school would be worse off meant all Tasmanian schools. But we are not going to see that; we are going to see Tasmanian schools worse off, Tasmania being one of the jurisdictions that signed up under Labor to commit to not take state spending out of their education system as the federal government put money in.

There are important challenges for Tasmania and I do not think anyone wants to underplay those challenges—lower productivity, slower population growth over recent decades and, as Mr Eslake describes it, a mix of industrial composition which has not been good for growth over recent years. There are more sectors that have lost out from a strong Australian dollar and fewer sectors that have benefited from a mining boom. That presents important challenges for Tasmania which we need to address in a bipartisan manner.

The carbon price has been good for the Tasmanian state budget and Tasmanians have been beneficiaries of the carbon price. Getting rid of the carbon price is a mistake for Tasmania as it is for Australia's kids in the future. We want to focus on those challenges of the future for the benefit of all Australians.

Debate adjourned.

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