Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand before you with a deep sense of urgency and responsibility. The great state of Tasmania, my home state, is facing a financial crisis of historic proportions. After 11 years under the Tasmanian Liberal government, we are now rapidly approaching a staggering $13 billion in state debt. This level of debt is not simply a number on a balance sheet. It is a burden on every Tasmanian, who will bear this responsibility for generations to come.

The consequences of this mismanagement are clear. The Liberals' approach to our finances has left Tasmania's budget in a dire position, placing our hard-won AA credit rating at serious risk. For more than a decade, Premier Jeremy Rockliff and his government have presided over ever-increasing infrastructure spending. Yet, despite these growing outlays, their track record on delivering actual projects falls far short. The result is more debt, fewer results and a heavier load for every household and every business across the state. Bungled infrastructure projects, like the Spirit of Tasmania fiasco and the earmarked Macquarie Point stadium, are making Tasmania a laughingstock. It is so sad.

Instead of taking responsibility, the state Liberals continue to go cap in hand to our federal Labor government seeking bailouts to prop up their poor decision-making. This is despite the fact that the Commonwealth already provides a massive 70 per cent of Tasmania's budget revenue—70 per cent. They still can't manage it. It's time for an honest leadership and a return to fiscal responsibility, not cooked books and a debt that future generations are going to have to bear. It is unfair, and, as a Labor senator for Tasmania, I demand more accountability from the Tasmanian government.