Mr FERGUSON (Bass) – Deputy Speaker, I rise today to speak and commend the Premier on his annual address. In my contribution tonight, I will be discussing the very important initiatives that our Premier is leading for and on behalf of the government, and I hope for and on behalf of the parliament. I will also be addressing the economy and opportunities for us as a government to support our business community, to keep our economy growing and strong and looking after people in employment. I will also be addressing the Spirits’ debacle, and I will be addressing pokies’ reform.
The first thing I want to say is that I commend the Premier on his speech. It was an outstanding address. The comment was made as well by a number of people that it is the first state of the state address, or Premier’s Address, in many years that has not cost the taxpayer in money. Indeed, it is about strengthening the budget position. I enjoyed the speech. It was a strong speech. It had a sense of wanting to make sensible strategic changes that are in the state’s economic and financial interests.
In my response today I want to make some comments that really do support the thrust of that address and to encourage those who have been so negative throughout this debate already to just reflect on what positive role they could be playing in helping to secure our state’s stronger future.
First of all, the Premier discussed the audit of government programs and State Service resources to make sure that we are not wasting resources on things that are not a current priority. There might have been a priority earlier, but perhaps in the context of competing priorities today that they would not be seen as the highest priority or getting good value enabling the government to be structured more efficiently. Also, assessing the benefits of moving entities out of government ownership with respected economist, Saul Eslake, to provide advice the government. I want to speak on those two points.
First of all, I want to say that the real issue that does confront us, all of us, whether you are Liberal, Labor, Green, Independent, or other, is that we have an obligation to do the right thing by current and future generations of young Tasmanians. It is our responsibility to leave things to that generation better than we find them. Taking on debt is responsible and logical during a pandemic to build better long-term productive infrastructure, to provide overdue justice to victims of sexual abuse by previous generations. That is right and proper, and we have done that. However, as well, I think we recognise that budget repair is needed.
The government’s new fiscal strategy, some two years old now, charts that course with clear target parameters. The best way to do this is not the type of budget cuts that I witnessed in 2011. Rather, instead, strategic efficiency tools which have least impact on services, coupled with ceasing new spending decisions unless there is an equal or greater savings measure in ineffective government programs to go with it.
A warning to Labor: do not bother playing obvious retail political games with privatisation. The only significant privatisation that has occurred in this place in recent years was the Labor government’s sale of the Tote.
Deputy Speaker, look how well Labor handled the sale of energy retailer, Aurora, something that was, in fact, supported by the Liberals because, let us remember, it is a retailer of electricity which is subject to price regulation, retail regulation. Labor could not even effect that sale, despite putting it on the market under Bryan Green. Such was the butchered process that they tried.
Regarding divestment options, I want to speak in support of the process that has been outlined by the Premier and by the Treasurer. It is an assessment. It is not, as our opponents would have you believe, a fire sale. That is just a cheap jargon slogan for the debate.
As people here would know, in my previous role as a former Treasurer, I was generally sceptical of asset sales, but I myself made the point in the media and in the budget roadshow following the last budget, we did need to take a look at them, particularly thinking of those entities that have a diminishing capital value. Those entities that perhaps do not provide significant returns to budget or where an ownership change might yield better public outcomes. I am on the team for this assessment process and encourage others to be as well, to be open-minded about that.
In my own view, there are a number of entities which make perfect sense for the government to consider divestment options. There is a proper process to be followed to ensure that it is a carefully considered decision making tree and that value is captured for our community, for our taxpayers, for our state. The described process is sound and the lead reviewer, Mr Eslake, I have to say I deeply respect and I think it has been an inspired decision by the Premier to put Mr Eslake deep into that process. I am pleased that he has agreed to do so. I want to emphasise in my time right now that decisions have not been made at this point in time, the Premier made that point this morning in questions and, in fact, this House itself will be one of the key decision-makers for any that are taken forward.
The economy is so important because, as has been discussed, it is the lifeline for the other important initiatives that government wants to do. Now, our economy in Tasmania, we have grown by so much. Unemployment is at record lows, but the economic headwinds that I warned about as treasurer two years ago in 2022-23 budget have now been with us, they are now affecting families and businesses. In fact, those headwinds have been even stronger with the Reserve Bank increasing interest rates faster and more frequently than even itself had suggested it may need to start to do.
Government overstimulus of our economy and underlying inflation has had the effect of hurting Tasmanian families. ABS Lending Finance and RBA lending rates data reveal that Tasmanian families have, on average, paid additional home mortgage interest of $31 000 in the three years since 2022 when those 12 interest rate rises began: $31 000 on average size mortgage in Tasmania, affecting our community.
Note we have only had one recent reduction of one quarter of 1 per cent to the official cash rate and the RBA has actually warned us to not expect too many rate cuts anytime soon. I am pleased that the government’s number one focus is on the economy. I was very attracted to the Premier’s way of explaining it when he said, “I will focus on one thing and one thing only: a strong economy, not because everything else that this government is doing is not important, it is, but because a strong economy is vital to support all those things.”
That is why we do need to support the government’s agenda to cut back on red tape. Do not mock it, do it. In fact, this House has been doing it. I was disappointed to see a public servant’s name brought into the House, but since Mr Clues was named, I want to praise Mr Clues and the great work that he has done. A first class public servant actually, and has assisted the government in cutting red tape and here, in this House, I can recall being involved in at least two tranches of red tape reduction and reform in the building industry.
We want to see more of that so that that audit that showed, I think it was something like 200 measures, can grow by even more. Supporting these initiatives is going to genuinely assist a small business, not just to get started, not just to survive, but even to thrive, and I am all for it. I am sensing around the Chamber there is an appetite for cutting red tape, so let us get on and do that and support it.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to address pokies reform. The work that I undertook as treasurer and in my role as minister for Finance delivered the entirety of the future gaming markets policy that our party took to the 2018 election together, with commitments made in this House during the debate, to make Tasmania a safer place for people to gamble their own money if they want to – and we are talking here about a mandatory pre-commitment scheme, the gold standard in pokie harm reduction.
It has been recommended by the nation’s Productivity Commission years ago, by the way, recommended by our own Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission, already implemented – this is not a well-known fact – in Federal Group’s Launceston and Hobart casinos for their premium players program, and currently in the process of being implemented across all venues, casinos, pubs and clubs in Victoria. Good on them.
I take this opportunity today to make the vow that, for whatever time I serve as a member of this House, as Liberal member for Bass, I will remain totally committed to the policy contained within the ministerial direction of September 2022 and our pre-election commitment to maintain that policy with additional harm-reduction measures while we work through the timeframe.
The Treasurer has informed me that the 2022 ministerial direction remains current and in force and that is a very good thing. I am pleased to be able to say, and the Premier has assured me, that the government remains committed to the policy, but there is a matter of timing, getting it implemented, utilising national understanding, including in the work occurring in Victoria in a smooth and effective manner, and I accept that.
My position is to work for and, when necessary, fight for what is good for the people of our state, the public interest.
I am continually appalled but not surprised at the behaviour of some in the gambling lobby who have done extremely well out of the reforms that this House delivered and were successfully implemented on 1 July 2023. They are fiercely protecting their extraordinary additional profits and lobbying to hold back reform. Who will disagree with me?
The central point is this – these overdue reforms will put real power back into the hands of players deciding in advance how much money they wanted to be able to lose before they start losing. This is a power shift from the software that is legally programmed to influence the player to think that they are winning when they are actually losing, and it will not in any way stop people choosing how to spend their own money. Again, who could argue with that?
Of course, I take the opportunity to say that I stand by the statements contained in my letters that were amongst a range of documents released recently. They speak for themselves.
Mr Deputy Speaker, as members are aware, with a heavy heart, I resigned from my commissions as a minister last October after 10 years of continuous service to Tasmanians. With the billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure delivery that I had successfully overseen in my time, including the new Royal Hobart Hospital, the LGH Women and Children’s Building, the Midland Highway, the Burnie Shiploader, and the Bridgewater Bridge, possibly, my favourite, to name just a few.
It must be said I agree with those who say the TT-line Spirits’ issue at Devonport was, and is, a significant failure for all of us who are proud to call Tasmania home.
As at that date in October, despite all of the information that I had honestly provided to this House and to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) committee, Labor wanted to play politics and they did. In fairness to all concerned, and Labor, until that date no person and no organisation had accepted any culpability for the mess within their business. So, in accordance with Westminster tradition, I took responsibility and honourably resigned.
However, I do want to bring to the attention of the House, since the House rose last November, that TT-Line did finally acknowledge its faults. It was stated by one that it was an exercise in the bleeding obvious, but it was a welcome development. This was stated by the new company chair, Mr Damian Bugg KC, at the GBE parliamentary hearings on 5 December. By this time, both the former chair and the former chief executive of TT-Line had departed the company, and Mr Bugg had the opportunity to review matters and relevant documentation to his own satisfaction.
From my point of view, this was a breakthrough acceptance of blame that should have been offered much sooner but I am pleased it was at least now acknowledged and on the public record in a committee of this House. While a number of Independents were in the political mix in the lead up to my resignation in October, I want to acknowledge the member for Franklin, Mr O’Byrne. He spoke up in one area that was important to me and that was that in his view, I had not misled parliament, and I was grateful for that. With everything else that had happened, somebody like Mr O’Byrne at least felt willing to put that on the record.
The challenges with the TT-Line project are deeply regrettable and have been a major learning experience for all involved, including me, Mr Deputy Speaker,
Responsibility for the decisions made has been shared across various individuals and entities. In the months before and then after the election, the government took significant steps to proactively and then reactively address the issues. To the colleagues in this House, I say we genuinely believed this would ensure the project would be delivered but those interventions were not enough, and we now know we were not told the full story.
The government and I have apologised for this, but this is an investment which we still believe will ultimately be a very positive and exciting development for Tasmania. Even as one of the most experienced ministers here, I have learned a big lesson the hard way. That lesson is that my trust in others can unfortunately fail to pick up on problems. Ministers have to be sceptical about advice that we receive in a way that is proportionate to the risk to the public interest. Check it with others. Insist on evidence. Do not let board members overstay their terms except in exceptional circumstances, and that happens. Be prepared to offend your chairs or CEOs in holding them to account, and deal swiftly with them when they are not up to the job or engage in the blame game. They are the lessons I have learned and I wanted to share that with this House.
I restate my sense of Westminster responsibility and repeat that apology again today. I have learned a lot out of what happened. I have had the benefit of time to think about these things and speak with people who care for me and have my interest at heart, and of course my family and friends. I believe that with the personal disappointment that accompanied it, I actually have a lot to be grateful for, having served in this government as Deputy Premier, as Treasurer and a minister for important portfolios for more than a decade combined. My achievements and, more importantly, my relationships through all that time, I will treasure for the rest of my life.
However, my particular praise is for Julie and our family. They have been like a rock. They have been like a rock in a storm and throughout the many disruptions and stressful times they have been through with me over that decade in ministry and more than two decades in politics, shouts volumes about the quality of their characters and the godly, sacrificial love they give, keeping our family together and supporting me in the work that I do for our community.
There are some subjects very close to my heart. In closing, I want to take the opportunity to really thank those members, particularly of my team on this side of the Chamber. You might be surprised to know how many people on the other side of the Chamber have expressed in different ways their kindness and thoughts for me. I love being in this team. I am grateful to be a member of the Tasmanian Liberal Party, the Tasmanian Liberal Government. We have done a lot in these nearly 11 years. We have really turned Tasmania around and developed a different culture that we can make things happen here. That it is an exciting place to live. That you do not have to leave to be able to pursue your opportunities and that we can in fact dream and then deliver on ambitious projects such as people said would never be possible. We are making a difference in the lives of Tasmanians.
Just 11 years ago I think you would have dared to believe that the unemployment rate in Tasmania could be amongst the lowest in the country. Not a couple of per cent higher, but among the lowest in the country and consistently so that it would be recognised by leading economists. As a leading economy and one of the most exciting places to do business where the NAB business surveys would indicate it is the best state in the country in terms of business conditions. That is what we have achieved. We have achieved together as a state and for the people of our state, our families, our businesses and of course our most precious Tasmanians, our children. I will continue to serve. I commend the Premier on his address. Let us get behind those important initiatives because that is how we can build a stronger economy. If we have a stronger economy, all of the other important priorities become far more achievable.
