Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm happy to come to our record in a moment, Senator Chisholm. The quote demonstrates that Ms White is desperate to get into government, will say anything, will do anything and will do deals. That's what we need to be concerned about. It is quite clear, despite what she says now in the lead-up to the election, that she will do a deal with the Greens.

A number of positions taken in a variety of policy areas require some scrutiny. Ms White said that Labor would close the Ashley Youth Detention Centre in Deloraine, a significant piece of infrastructure, a significant employer in the community. In October she stated:

However, we recognise the crucial employment the facility provides for the local community, therefore, we believe the infrastructure and educational expertise could be used …

She was going to close it one day and keep it open the next, all because the government said, 'It's there, it's part of our system of youth justice; let's keep it.' She was rattled, and she backflipped. The Tasmanian government established the Office of the Coordinator-General in Launceston, a part of our state which has had its fair share of economic woes. Labor specifically announced in it's Economic Direction Statement:

Labor will abolish the role of Coordinator General …

Rebecca White has had multiple positions on this entity:

We have decided that the money that is spent on the Coordinator General's office … could be better directed to fund regional economic development officers right across the state.

That was 26 September last year. Then on 17 November last year the shadow Treasurer and finance minister, Scott Bacon, undermined Ms White by saying:

Labor has not proposed the closure of the Launceston office—

a complete 180. That position lasted less than three months. Tasmanian Labor re-announced on 31 January this year that it would, after all, abolish the Office of the Coordinator-General in Tasmania. We also have the on-again off-again position with regard to the northern prison. We've already seen a number of positions in relation to extending high schools to year 12. They say out one side of their mouth that they want to roll it back and then go around saying out the other side that they will keep it. Which is it? Tasmanians need to know.

On health policy, which was slated to be the keystone issue of this election, the one deciding issue, Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman announced on Sunday a huge policy relating to an investment in health care in Tasmania, over $700 million over a six-year period. Then Ms White, a bit rattled, was attempting to explain her policy on the run and mucked up in the worst of ways the costings for her policy, saying that Labor is promising to fix the health crisis by front-ending commitments and front-ending staff employment in the first two years. She went on to say that the $560 million was over three or four years, completely contradicting her own policy document, which makes no mention of front-ending expenditure with regard to staff or health services. The document states:

The staged plan will be rolled out over six years.

…   …   …

Labor's plan will deliver more beds over the next six years—

not what Ms White said in relation to front-ending funding.

We have a $700 million health plan which will reach out to, support and sustainably invest in communities in regional Tasmania, the north, the north-west and the south over a long period of time. These costings have been submitted to the Tasmanian Department of Treasury and Finance, which I doubt Labor have done themselves. The choice is very clear: you have a Liberal government in Tasmania that has a record it can stand proudly on and a very clear plan outlined for the future of the state, to take it to the next level, and an opposition leader who changes her position every day of the week.