Premier Rockliff and Treasurer Barnett need to answer one critical question: how are they going to pay for all their debt funded spending?

After spruiking more grant funding today, the Liberals have demonstrated they are determined to ignore the warnings and continue plunging Tasmania further into a budget crisis.   

Funding for small businesses is a nice idea, but Tasmania has record deficit and debt, no pathway to a cash surplus and their poor budget management is hurting confidence.

Earlier this month, Moody’s downgraded Tasmania’s credit outlook to negative from stable, citing “a weakening in the state’s governance” and a rising debt burden.

More debt-funded handouts from a desperate minority Liberal government spiralling deeper into debt by the day is going to make the problem worse.

Premier Rockliff and Treasurer Barnett need to focus on the fundamentals of good governance and strong budget management, which helps support confidence in the Tasmanian economy but instead they are racking up a crippling credit card bill for future generations.

Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer