Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If the people of Tasmania needed any more proof that the Liberals could not give a stuff about them, the evidence was presented on Tuesday night. The Treasurer did not mention Tasmania once in his budget speech—not once. In the government's most important speech of the year, where it outlines the financial roadmap for the nation, the nation's island state did not even rate one mention from the Treasurer. There was nothing about fixing Tasmania's health crisis, nothing about addressing Tasmania's poor education outcomes and nothing about providing Tasmania a fair go when it comes to our share of national infrastructure investment. When you read the budget papers, it is easy to see why Tasmania was left out of the speech: because Tasmania rates hardly a mention in the budget overall. While this government crows about the claim that it is investing $70 billion in infrastructure, there is no new infrastructure planned for Tasmania. This government has billions for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane but nothing for Hobart and Launceston, let alone the many regional towns and communities of my electorate.

This budget fails Tasmania in every way. It gives a $16,000 tax cut to millionaires. Well, there are not many millionaires in Tasmania, and the few we have are centred on the harbourside mansions of Sandy Bay. There are not many millionaires in the towns of my electorate, in Bridgewater, Sheffield, Deloraine, New Norfolk, Campbell Town, Nubeena, Beaconsfield, Triabunna, Sorell or countless others. There will not be many of my constituents with a $16,000 smile on their face on 1 July. There will be no tax cut for these people, but they can expect a tax hike. A budget that manages to reward millionaires with a big tax cut while slugging working Australians with a tax hike and pensioners with a pension cut is really something. This is a budget that is giving $25 billion in tax cuts to corporations at the same time that it cuts $22 billion from Australian schools. Right there, in that one sentence, is this government's agenda writ large. This is a budget that makes it easier for CEOs to buy corporate jets and harder for teachers to buy school supplies. The Liberals' education funding failure leaves Tasmanian schools $84 million worse off over the next two years. Tasmanian school kids cannot afford these cuts.

Mr Van Manen interjecting—

You might laugh, Mr Van Manen, but it is not a laughing matter, I will tell you. We have all heard those opposite trot out the approved lines about the corporate tax cuts improving investment and competitiveness, but their own papers prove the lie.