Labor leader Dean Winter delivers budget reply speech, outlines 10 steps to help fix state’s finances

Dean Winter has delivered his most significant speech since becoming Labor leader, outlining his “pro-development” vision for the state and plan to fix Tasmania’s finances.

Australian currency. Picture: NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar

Dean Winter has detailed the Opposition’s plan to rein in government spending by an estimated $150m in his most significant speech since becoming Labor leader, asserting the party needed to change and adopt an unashamedly “pro-development” stance.

Delivering his budget reply speech in state parliament on Tuesday, Mr Winter was scathing in his assessment of the Liberals’ management of Tasmania’s finances, with a budget deficit of $792m forecast this financial year alone and net debt predicted to increase to $8.5bn by 2027-28.

His address to the lower house doubled as a leadership mission statement, in which he listed the party’s priorities and justified the policy changes he had implemented since becoming the Labor leader following the March state election.

Dean Winter, Labor leader Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“The last four election results have given us a verdict. The voters never get it wrong,” he said.

“Which means [Labor] got it wrong.”

Mr Winter defended his decision to back the proposed Macquarie Point stadium, saying it would create 4000 jobs - but he said Labor’s support for the project hinged on it being delivered at or below the $375m state expenditure cap set by the government.

He outlined a 10-point plan to realise an estimated $150m in budget savings, including cutting back on external consultancies by bringing more services “in-house”, auditing all of the government’s outsourcing contracts, banning pork barrelling and “rorts”, and broadening the powers of the Tasmanian Audit Office.

The centrepiece of Mr Winter’s vision for the state was a proposal to “supercharge” the Tasmanian Coordinator-General, an office Labor once wanted to abolish.

“Under my leadership, we’ll give the Coordinator-General real powers, and real teeth,” he said.

“Because the Coordinator-General clearly hasn’t delivered on its mandate.

“The massive investment backlog in this state is proof of that. There is $25bn worth of capital waiting at our door. But none of it is happening because it is simply too hard to deal with this minority Liberal government.”

Treasurer Michael Ferguson with Premier Jeremy Rockliff on the day the 2024-25 state budget was handed down. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Premier Jeremy Rockliff later said the government already had a plan to improve the functions of the Coordinator-General, accusing Mr Winter of “copycat” behaviour.

Mr Winter said he was “proudly pro-development” and wanted to offer Tasmanians “hope and a vision for the future”.

“I offer Tasmanians new leadership. I offer a renewed Labor Party,” he said.

“With a plan and a vision for the future - to deliver the change Tasmania needs.”

The Opposition Leader said Labor would not support next year’s state budget if it didn’t outline a clear plan to repair Tasmania’s finances.

Clark Liberal MP Simon Behrakis described Mr Winter’s “‘look-at-me’ reply” as the “usual Labor strategy of more bureaucracy, more red tape, more big government”.

Labor’s ‘first steps towards getting state finances back on track’, according to Dean Winter

1. Bring more consulting services in-house, as the federal government has done successfully.

2. Conduct an audit of all outsourcing contracts to ensure taxpayers are getting value for money. And we will not hesitate to renegotiate or terminate contracts that are not delivering cost savings, high-quality outcomes or which could be delivered better in-house.

3 Ban pork-barrelling and rorts to stop taxpayers being ripped off. We will pass a law to make all government grants go through a rigorous assessment process.

4. Stamp out dodgy deals and the improper use of public money by enhancing the powers and independence of the Tasmanian Audit Office. Our auditors have the weakest powers of all any similar agency in the country and we believe that needs to change.

5. Ensure decisions are taken with a long-term view of the state’s finances, by including 10-year projections for debt and deficits in every budget, as Saul Eslake has recommended.

6. Improve financial transparency and the policy development capacity of the entire parliament, by establishing a Parliamentary Budget Service. We will negotiate a deal to enable a Treasury officer to be based within the federal PBO to help reduce the cost.

7. Establish a Review and Evaluation Unit in Treasury so failed programs and policies can be identified and ended.

8. Examine opportunities for specialised delivery of services.

9. Explore merging the generic IT infrastructure of various government departments to reduce maintenance costs, strengthen buying power and improve cybersecurity.

10. Introduce performance-based budgeting that links government spending to measurable outcomes.

Originally published as Labor leader Dean Winter delivers budget reply speech, outlines 10 steps to help fix state’s finances