Jeremy Rockliff is at it again – another big thought bubble, with no real plan, and serious financial risks that haven’t been considered.

Today, he’s announced a brand-new government insurance company – after spending last month talking about selling off public assets.

 

This is the same Premier who has put Tasmania on a pathway to bankruptcy, couldn’t build a berth at Devonport, and now he wants to make a dodgy insurance deal that will put Tasmanians at further financial risk.

Respected independent economist Saul Eslake had this to say about the announcement:

 

“What an absolutely hare-brained idea!!!  The Tasmanian Government is in no position to take on additional financial risks. This is the sort of thing I'd expect to come from the Nats ... not the Liberals. It is just about the worst idea to come out of a major political party in Tasmania that I can remember.”

Tasmania is in no position to take on this kind of financial risk because the Liberals have completely wrecked Tasmania’s finances.

 

This also puts the proud Tasmanian insurance business RACT at risk. Were they even consulted?

 

Let’s be clear – this is a desperate political stunt from a Premier who’s failed to manage the basics and is now making promises he won’t ever deliver. Jeremy Rockliff can’t manage a budget, he couldn’t manage the government businesses, and he certainly shouldn’t be trusted with another term to inflict more financial damage on Tasmanians.

 

Tasmanians have had 11 years of this chaos. It’s time for a Fresh Start.

 

Only Labor has a responsible and fully funded plan to fix the budget, ease cost of living pressures, and protect the public assets that matter.