Labor critical of Treasury’s latest report revealing $620m deficit for September quarter
The latest Treasury quarterly report has some alarming figures about the State’s debt. Find out what it revealed.
Tasmania
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The government’s $620m deficit for the September quarter was more than double for the same period last financial year, Treasury’s latest quarterly report reveals.
Labor seized on the report describing it as “shocking and alarming”, saying it was “snuck out the door late on a Friday afternoon in an attempt to avoid media scrutiny”.
But Treasurer Guy Barnett said the government’s net debt position was “no surprise” and the government was still working towards a return to surplus in the future.
Treasury’s September quarterly report showed for the three months ended September 30 this year, there was a deficit of $620m, an increase of $317.1m from the $302.9m deficit reported for the same period in 2023-24.
It said major expenses were up $246.5m above original budget estimates.
Employee expenses were $49.7m above original estimates with the Department of Health $30.7m over budget due to the cost of paying for medical locums and agency nurses.
The Police, Fire and Emergency Management department had budget increases of $7.1m and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania $5.2m.
Grant and subsidy expenses were $199.2m above the pro-rata original budget estimate primarily due to an increase of $132.3m for the Department of Premier and Cabinet and $58.6m for the Department of Education, Children and Young People.
Labor’s treasury spokesman Josh Willie said the treasury report pointed to “the need for urgent budget repair”.
“One-quarter of the way into the financial year the Liberals are already over three-quarters of the way into their deficit,” he said.
“The treasury report reveals that in just three months the Health Department has blown its budget by more than $30m because it doesn’t have enough health workers and has had to outsource recruitment.
“When the Liberals first took power there was money in the bank.
“After 10 years of financial mismanagement the state is now in record debt and deficit.”
Mr Barnett was guarded in his response to the report.
“As a government, we are backing business and economic growth,” he said.
“We make no apologies for investing in frontline services such as police and health, and for responding to increased demand in our hospitals.
“Notwithstanding the first quarter figures, we will maintain a pathway to return the budget to surplus as part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.”
Mr Willie said when Michael Ferguson was Treasurer, “the Liberals delivered the biggest deficit ever seen in Tasmanian history - nearly five times worse than the deficit carried at the height of Covid”.
He said Labor had put forward a 10-point plan for budget repair which included steps such as bringing more consulting services in-house and conducting an audit of all outsourcing contracts to ensure taxpayers were getting value for money.
“It’s a first step and shows Labor is serious about leading when it comes to repairing Tasmania’s finances,” Mr Willie said.
“The test is now for the new treasurer to show how he will avoid another $1bn deficit.”
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