Libs attacked in breach of convention

LABOR has breached caretaker conventions in the Tasmanian election campaign.

LABOR has breached caretaker conventions in the Tasmanian election campaign, using government resources and official logos on press releases that attack its political opponents.

The state's caretaker conventions forbid the use of government online and electronic resources to "support any particular political party" or make "attacks on non-government parties" or disseminate any "political material".

Government media releases should, during caretaker mode, include nothing that could "reasonably be construed as being for political purposes", the conventions state.

A number of government media releases, issued by email from the Department of Premier and Cabinet, with official government letterheads, have in the past week featured highly political attacks on the Liberals.

Two days after the minority Labor government went into caretaker mode last Wednesday, an official government release praised Labor's record on health and attacked the Liberal's health policy . "The Liberal Party's four-point health hoax is a promise waiting to be broken with a funding commitment that will run out before they have even delivered point one," says the press release by Health Minister Michelle O'Byrne.

"The Liberal Party will slash jobs and cut services."

Yesterday, an official government press release on Bass Strait shipping said in part: "Unlike the Liberals we know that simply throwing good money after bad won't address the complex challenges we face as an island state.

"Labor has been working with industry to make changes that will ensure sustainable long-term outcomes for all Tasmanian exporters."

Liberal leader Will Hodgman has made a written complaint about alleged breaches of the conventions to DPAC secretary Rhys Edwards.

Government spokesman Rohan Wade last night denied there had been breaches of the conventions.

Mr Edwards did not directly respond to questions from The Australian, but DPAC last night issued a statement that failed to address the overtly political nature of some material in the relevant media releases.

"The conventions are neither legally binding nor hard and fast rules," the DPAC statement said.