ISSUES

Independent corruption watchdog

Tasmania’s Integrity Commission is the weakest in the nation. An Independent An Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) with broad powers and public hearings will deliver transparency and integrity in public life.

 

Office of Budget responsibility

The pork barreling of the old parties has driven Tasmania into a debt crisis with bankruptcy a looming threat. The office’s independent audit of annual budgets and of party election promises, not subject to political influence, will help eliminate draining the State’s financial resources for narrow political gain.

 

Stadium

Australia’s most wealthy sports entertainment giant, the AFL, has foisted a budget-draining, unaffordable and unnecessary stadium on our state. A strong cross bench in Parliament will stand up to wealthy sports giants, the AFL, bullying and hold to account the Lib/Lab coalition that has kowtowed to powerbrokers at the expense of Tasmanians’ best interests.

 

AFL team

Tasmanians deserve their chance to launch the Devils into the AFL competition – and the AFL knows it. With $114 million of public funds already committed to support the team and $105 million to the high-performance centre in Kingston, a strong cross bench will deliver the Tassie team.

 

Education

Tasmania’s next parliament must focus on providing young people with an education that better prepares them for life in the 21st century. This means delivering more resources and staff to our public schools, halting the exodus of students and ensuring a level playing field between public and private education.  Tasmania’s education in the 60s was the envy of the mainland – we can make it that again.

 

Health

Lack of investment, wastage and poor government decision-making have delivered Tasmania the worst health outcomes in the nation. Collaboration and consultation with health professionals – GPs, specialists, nurses, ambulance crews, health policy specialists and unions – will direct the State’s limited resources towards delivering a health system that services Tasmanians’ needs.

 

Housing

Reduce short-term rentals to increase rental availability. Improve tenant rights and security at least to the level of Victoria and ACT. Free-up and resume vacant land for affordable housing. Simplify planning requirements to improve efficiency and to introduce rapid-build sustainable housing. Tackling growing homelessness must be a priority.

 

Climate action

Greater Hobart is Australia’s most vulnerable city to catastrophic fire, like the disaster in Los Angeles. We need urgent Commonwealth/State action to head off such a catastrophe in our city, a National Climate Action Fund to build resilience against the climate crisis and no one should be denied insurance for losses from natural disaster. No new coal, oil or gas extraction in Tasmania. Our children and our grandchildren deserve better.

 

Forests

End destructive native forest logging. Redirect industry subsidies to impacted communities for transition to sustainable forestry. Introduce exemptions for specialist timber industries such as crafts, boat building and high-end furniture. Encourage value-adding to the forest plantation industry with focus on high-tech building materials for flat pack housing.

 

Tourism:

Introduce tourist $40 tax on the 1.31million tourists and more than 350,000 cruise ship passengers who arrive in Tasmania each year. $64million revenue to be directed towards upgraded tourism & public facilities.

 

Tax on resources

Ensure user pays imposts on extractive industries to genuinely cover all regulatory costs. Impose substantial levies for use of Tasmania’s natural resources. Increase taxes on extractive industries to levels equivalent to other Australian states.

 

Salmon industry

Immediately halt expansion of industrial salmon production in Storm Bay and ban any further installation of open-net feedlots, especially in the north east where 50 new pens are planned. Raise licence fees, lease fees and taxation to drive salmon production out of SE waters and into land-based production.

 

Infrastructure

Establish independent watchdog to rate public infrastructure projects according to need, not according to political whim and electoral advantage. Within budgetary constraints, public
infrastructure is essential to re-boot Tasmania’s development.

 

Indigenous Rights

Reconciliation with Tasmania’s First People remains a priority along with truth telling in genuine conversation with Aboriginal individuals and representative organisations.

 

Budget repair

The next Parliament and Government will inherit soaring debt towards $20 billion along with downgraded credit ratings. Budget constraint, ending subsidies to industries, raising taxes on extractive industries and greater productivity are amongst necessary levers to ending the crisis.

If elected I would seek to establish a broad-based, transparent and inclusive consultation process tasked to efficiently identify where the Budget can be brought under control without undermining the public services and support structures that Tasmanians rely on.

 

The next Parliament

The adversarial, winner-takes-all approach of the two old parties, Liberal and Labor, has delivered Tasmanians four elections in seven years, unstable government and weak responses to economic, social and environmental challenges.

The next government will almost certainly need support from the cross benches and smaller parties to tackle the state’s many issues. A strong cross bench with the capacity to work across party lines, to collaborate rather than block or attack, will be crucial in decision-making, holding government to account and ensuring integrity and transparency.

As a truly independent MP, I would play a role as one of the “adults in the room”, restraining bickering across parties and encouraging constructive collaboration that puts people before politics.