New Treasurer Barnett obviously didn’t like having his own words read back to him this morning and delivered a dummy spit for the ages as he tried to avoid answering questions about his government’s record debt.

It’s no wonder Treasurer Barnett can’t keep his cool when thinking about the budget, his inaugural speech from 2014 makes his thoughts on debt and deficits crystal clear.

“It is time to replace despondency and despair with hope and opportunity. There is a budget blowout which we now know to be in excess of $1 billion over the forward Estimates - an irresponsible mortgage on our children's future.”

Not only was that a fabrication, but there was zero net debt - they were remarkable words from a Treasurer now responsible for $8.6 billion worth of debt across the forward estimates, and approximately $300 million of new spending since the September budget inching us closer to a credit downgrade.

When Treasurer Barnett was elected to the Tasmanian Parliament in 2014, Labor left $200 million in cash in the bank.

Now after 10 years of budget mismanagement, it’s clear the Liberals can’t be trusted with the state’s finances.

Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer