Treasurer Peter Gutwein accused of ‘heavy shifting’ ahead of GBE hearings

TASMANIAN Treasurer Peter Gutwein has been accused of making the state’s finances look better at the expense of publicly owned businesses.

ESOC 2015 Day 2- MP Peter Gutwein speaks during the Economic & Social Outlook Conference in Melbourne.

TASMANIAN Treasurer Peter Gutwein has been accused of making the state’s finances look better at the expense of publicly owned businesses.

On the eve of Government Businesses Scrutiny Committees in Parliament — when Tasmanian MPs scrutinise the balance sheets of the multi-million dollar enterprises — Opposition Treasury spokesman Scott Bacon said the State Government was moving debt around publicly owned businesses.

His comments have been supported by Tasmanian economist John Lawrence, who has raised concerns about the future of Forestry Tasmania.

“Treasurer Peter Gutwein likes Tasmanians to believe he’s done some heavy lifting, but he’s actually doing some heavy shifting,” Mr Bacon said.

“The Budget shows state sector net debt will this year increase sharply to $740 million.

“The Treasurer is using our state-owned companies as cash cows, demanding big dividends to prop up his budget.

“Relying on energy companies to shore up the state budget is both unsustainable and irresponsible.”

Mr Gutwein said the government was prudently managing the state’s assets.

“Mr Bacon as a former finance minister is aware that the rebalancing of debt/equity is part of the normal course of government business and to feign otherwise is taking political opportunism cloaked in ignorance to completely another level of desperation,” he said.

Mr Lawrence said Mr Bacon’s contention was “basically correct” but the trends started under the former government when the level of dividends from the electricity companies was increased.

He said dividend requests were a real problem for Hydro Tasmania in particular.

“It operates in an ever-changing volatile capital hungry environment and can’t reasonably be expected to perform with the sort of demands the Labor government and now the Liberal government have placed on its cash flow,” he said.

“The policy of government business increasing borrowings, essentially to prop up the government is nearing its limits.”