‘We can’t give them 14 years’: Rebecca White launches Labor campaign battle in Launceston

On Monday morning, Labor leader Rebecca White will launch her party’s election campaign in Launceston, imploring Tasmanians to ditch the Liberal Party at the upcoming state election.

Labor leader Rebecca White says her party will “bring back the dream of home ownership” for thousands of Tasmanians, if elected. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Labor leader Rebecca White has implored Tasmanians to ditch the Liberal Party at the upcoming state election, urging voters not to “give them 14 years”.

Ms White will this morning launch Labor’s election campaign at Boag’s Brewery in Launceston, with a speech aimed at swaying voters toward a government that will take “urgent action on cost of living and housing”.

According to an excerpt from her speech, Ms White will remind voters that the Liberal Party has “had 10 years” and “if they haven’t done it by now, they never will”.

“We can’t give them 14 years, because we need urgent action on the cost of living,” she says.

“We need to pay Tasmanian prices for Tasmanian power. We need more affordable childcare, and free school lunches. We need a better deal on housing.

“We need a better future for Tasmania.”

Ms White says the Liberal government has “broken all the promises they made on power prices” and has had oversight of Tasmania as it went from being the most affordable state in Australia to the least.

She says Labor will “bring back the dream of home ownership for thousands of Tasmanians”.

“Do you stick with the Liberals, who’ve spent five times as much on ads to promote themselves, as they have on childcare for your kids?” she says.

“Or do you want someone who’ll invest in more affordable childcare, so you can go to work and pay the bills?

“Do you really believe giving the Liberals 14 years will make things any better for you and your family? Or is it time to give someone else a go?”

Over the weekend, Labor said if elected, it would give Tasmanian renters a better future by implementing a range of measures “to help them make their house a home” – and help with the cost-of-living crisis.

Labor’s list of election promises for renters included provisions for renters to hang pictures, plant gardens, affix furniture to walls for safety, install child safety gates and mobility aids, as well as allowing renters to have pets.

The party also promises to crack down on rent bidding and other “dodgy practices” by providing the Residential Tenancy Commissioner with funds for an additional investigator.

It has also floated promises for a portable bond scheme, protections against unfair evictions and for tenants experiencing domestic violence, and rules making it unlawful for residential lease agreements to ask for more information than is necessary.

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