Labor’s budget black hole has now widened to a multi-billion-dollar sinkhole, with the belated change of heart on the Macquarie Point Stadium and a Tasmanian AFL team.
Last week, Labor Leader Rebecca White crab walked away from her campaign against the stadium, to support the very Bill that will facilitate the independent assessment of it.
It is clear that Ms White and Labor will not vote against the stadium and will not rip up our AFL deal if they were able to return to Government with the Greens.
But now, Ms White must pay for it: That’s $230 million for the stadium and $60 million for the high performance centre over the next four years.
Of course, Ms White would love to apply the laws of BEConomics, where every Labor spend comes at no cost thanks to their ‘This policy will pay for itself Magic Money Tree.’
But in the real world, this means Labor’s deficit will now blow out to exceed $1 billion this financial year alone. Labor’s net debt will also edge towards $7 billion in 2026-27, from original estimates of from $6.4 billion.
It’s the same old Labor – you can’t trust them with money.
It’s the third BEConomics instalment lately, proving you can’t trust Labor with money, after Ms White said the costs of Government covering developer charges would either be absorbed by TasNetworks, or simply “guaranteed” to TasWater by the State Government, and $1 million boost to our successful Ticket to Play scheme without saying how she will pay for it.
Let’s not forget, the last time Labor was in Government, they plunged Tasmania into recession, unemployment had a seven in front of it and there wasn’t a surplus in sight.
In contrast, our Government’s careful economic management has charted a pathway back to surplus in the next two years, unemployment is at a record low of 3.8 per cent and we have the lowest debt in the country and the second lowest net debt per capita.
The stadium is just one part of our long-term plan to deliver what matters most to all Tasmanians. It will be an important economic game changer for our whole State and is the key to unlocking our own AFL team.
