You might have heard some speculation about my commitment to Bass and Tasmania.
I’ve given two decades standing up for the people of Bass in State and Federal Parliament as an MP, Minister and a loyal Deputy Premier, and working to improve Tasmania. Public service is a great privilege and I will continue to serve people in one way or another for the rest of my life.
My recent near-fatal car crash caused me to think deeply about how brief and fragile this life really is (and how important it is not to waste the days we’re given). None of us know what tomorrow brings.
Right now, my focus is where it needs to be. Next week the Parliament will consider a State Budget that includes a record $360 million investment in upgrades for the Launceston General Hospital, along with many other important initiatives for Northern Tasmania. These are things I’ve been working on for years and I want to get them done.
The people of Bass elected me to do a job, and that’s exactly what I’m focused on right now. I’m staying focused on helping deliver those outcomes and supporting the Government as it navigates what is likely to be another week of Labor’s typical political games and disruption.
Australia and Tasmania need good people prepared to step up and serve when opportunities arise. Australia also needs a strong alternative to Anthony Albanese’s dishonest and increasingly out-of-touch Labor Government. They have deceived the voters so many times and deserve to be thrown out.
My guiding light has always been serving God, King and Country. That means putting people first and personal ambition second.
From Bridgenorth and Launceston to the world, Richard Scolyer made a truly extraordinary contribution to humanity.
As a fellow Northern Tasmanian, I am incredibly proud and grateful for the life he lived. Through his work, countless lives have been saved and improved, and that impact will continue long into the future.
I just read his beautiful and generous final farewell. Richard said he hoped to be remembered as a proud everyday Aussie who “gave it a crack”. He certainly will be. Australian of the Year in 2024 and always.
My thoughts are with Katie, Emily, Matthew and Lucy, and all those mourning his loss. I am also thinking of Richard’s elderly mum and dad, who raised a son who would go on to make such a remarkable difference to the lives of others. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mr Scolyer at a Riverside Primary School presentation just last year. The love and pride for his son was so evident.
A good man. A generous man. A proud Northern son – who made, and will continue to make, a remarkable difference to the world.
Thank you Richard
Also, this tribute to Richard I gave in Parliament recently. Click here.
Wednesday the 10th of June is Thank a First Responder Day. As Local MP for Bass, I want to really celebrate the people and services that look after us all. Throughout this week, our Bass community will be recognising the service of our local frontline personnel and the families who quietly support them behind the scenes. for many reasons, this is a cause that is very important to me.
This is an opportunity for all of us to do something plain but meaningful – and that’s to say a clear, direct “thank you” to the men and women who respond when emergencies occur, often under the most difficult and trying circumstances.
Our first responders carry a heavy burden on behalf of us all. That is why practical, visible acts of appreciation, such as a handwritten note carry real weight and make a genuine difference to the person receiving them.
How do I participate?
To ensure it is as straightforward as possible for people to participate, my office has worked with local small businesses across Launceston and the Tamar region. Thank a First Responder Day cards are now available at several local pharmacies. I want to publicly credit these businesses for their willingness to support the effort.
You can pick up a card, write a short message, and pop it in the nearby envelope for direct delivery to our local stations and units. These locations include:
Launceston – TerryWhite Chemmart Brisbane Street (opposite City Park) Launceston – Pharmacy & Co. in Kings Meadows Launceston – Hatton & Laws on Charles Street Youngtown – Youngtown WholeLife Pharmacy and Healthfoods Beaconsfield – West Tamar Pharmacy Riverside – TerryWhite Chemmart (Woolworths Complex) Mowbray – TerryWhite Chemmart George Town – Your Pharmacy
Alternatively, you can nominate a first responder to give the card to personally.
A message of thanks does not need to be complex or overly long. A few sincere lines are enough to acknowledge the work that is too often unseen and performed at a high personal cost. We want to turn quiet gratitude into action to encourage the first responders who serve our community.
If you are unsure of where to start; a simple acknowledgment of professionalism, care, bravery or the thank you for an experience you had with a first responder will go a long way. I would like people to include a word of thanks to the families of our responders, who share in the sacrifices of these amazing people.
I encourage everyone who is able to take a brief moment this week to visit one of these pharmacies, involve your children or your workplace, and help ensure our first responders know their service is fully recognized and respected.
Tonight in Parliament I spoke about the remarkable spirit of service and perseverance alive in Ravenswood.
I recently attended a fantastic community event hosted by Starting Point Neighbourhood House, centred around the theme: “Who are people in your neighbourhood?” The answer became obvious the moment I arrived — hundreds of people gathering together, community organisations working side by side, and local volunteers quietly serving others.
Starting Point Neighbourhood House continues to play a vital role in Ravenswood through practical support, education, childcare links, literacy assistance and community connection.
I also wanted to acknowledge some of the humble local champions who have dedicated decades of service to the community, including Julie Moy, Sharon Leonard, Peter Richards, Cynthia Clements and Carmen Gunley. Their leadership reflects the very best of Ravenswood.
It was especially encouraging to see university medical students providing free health checks to volunteers from the Ravenswood Fire Brigade — a simple but powerful example of practical mateship and local pride.
Communities grow stronger because of people who turn up, care about others and quietly get on with the job of serving.
(Bass) – Deputy Speaker, tonight I rise to speak to the spirit of service and perseverance which is well and truly alive in Ravenswood in my community of Bass. Recently, I attended a fantastic community event hosted by Starting Point Neighbourhood House, previously known as Ravenswood Neighbourhood House, built around a simple but very powerful and relevant theme: Who are people in your neighbourhood? I believe that these events have been held around the state. I really enjoyed this one for the reasons I would like to outline.
First of all, the answer to the question was self-evident. The moment I’d walked through the car park into the reserve behind the house, the answer was right there in front of me. We saw hundreds of people, many stalls and displays and different organisations that work in or serve the community of Ravenswood. They were brought together.
What we saw was the actual Neighbourhood House itself, starting point, which itself is an anchor in the Ravenswood community. It’s been there for a long time, and they’ve provided practical support, community development, education, links to childcare, links to literacy, a genuine local hub in the true sense of the word.
It was a great pleasure to spend time with wonderful people that I’ve known and worked with for many years. I’d like to name some of those people. I find that to me they’re such special people, quite humble, unassuming champions for the local community. People like Julie Moy, Sharon Leonard, Peter Richards, Cynthia Clements and Carmen Gumley. Those people and many others represent decades of service and leadership in the community of Ravenswood.
Their commitment proves that they believe in people, and I believe that their personas reflect the very best of Ravenswood. I’d also like to mention that Cynthia was recently recognised by the Launceston City Council as Volunteer of the Year for Community Service. I know that she would say quickly that the real reward for her was seeing her community continue to grow stronger.
On the day, we saw university medical students providing free health checks, to volunteers from the Ravenswood Fire Brigade. This day was a very powerful show of practical mateship and local pride. It’s a great community. We need more people like those that we saw that day, who turn up, who care and who get on with the job of serving others. I think that is a great answer to the question: who are the people in your neighbourhood? To everybody involved in those initiatives, thank you so very much.
In Parliament, I spoke in support of the 2026 Tasmanian Budget and the Government’s approach to fiscal sustainability, infrastructure investment and protecting essential services across Tasmania. I spoke about the pressures facing Tasmanian families and small businesses, the importance of disciplined financial management, and why governments must make responsible decisions rather than simply promising higher spending. I also addressed the TT-Line project and the findings of the recent Public Accounts Committee inquiry report, as well as major investments in health, roads, education, transport and northern Tasmanian infrastructure. (more…)
In Parliament, I spoke in support of the Treasurer and the Government during the debate on Tasmania’s Budget and fiscal sustainability. I argued that you cannot demand budget repair while opposing the measures needed to achieve it. I also highlighted the importance of responsible financial management while continuing to invest in essential services like health.
Watch and read the full speech below.
Mr FERGUSON (Bass) – Deputy Speaker, I’m pleased to be able to rise to support the Treasurer and the government on this matter of public importance. I thought we wanted budget sustainability. That’s what I remember very vividly out of the last probably two debates around the budget presented by previously the Treasurer in the interim Budget last November and also the previous treasurer, Mr Barnett, at this time last year.
It was this day one year ago when we got the no-confidence motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition when he chased the car and accidentally caught it and found that he actually had a majority of members of this House who supported that motion. I don’t believe for one moment that he actually wanted to proceed with that motion, but following his great mentor, Mr Lennon’s advice, I believe, he led us all into that merry dance. I remember very vividly that the then Leader of the Opposition very deliberately targeted the then treasurer, Guy Barnett, and Jeremy Rockliff as Premier in that no-confidence motion. The point had to be made to the opposition at that time by none other than David O’Byrne, the honourable member for Franklin, that the budget is not a Treasurer’s budget, it’s not a Premier’s budget, it’s Cabinet’s budget. You’re doing it again today. You’re now trying to make it personal about the person, the Treasurer, Eric Abetz. It’s like you’re trying to pepper every question through the day and through the MPI and you’ve tried to divide ministers from one another.
For example, you’ve asked questions earlier today of minister Archer as if she has a different point of view from another minister with whom she shares a Cabinet decision. That is how it works. It does rather give it away that not one member on the other side of this Chamber has been a minister and you don’t know and don’t act like you would know about how those things work. You had to have Mr O’Byrne teach you, and you’re doing it again here and now.
Last year you made it very clear that the budget needed to be repaired. You made it abundantly clear. Your own alternative budget that you published at the election had a $1 billion in cuts and the year before that in the March 2024 election, you had $2 billion of infrastructure and operational cuts, but of course now that we have a government, a treasurer, and a Cabinet presenting a budget before our House that reins in operational expenditure growth – Health still continues to grow in funding but the growth trajectory has been addressed you’re seeing budget repair and you’re opposing it wherever you can.
We’ve been told time and again by eminent people like Saul Eslake, and he’s not alone; we’ve had Treasury’s fiscal sustainability report. You raise that in a merry hurry, but now when you see some of these measures being introduced, you’re taking every opportunity to oppose them and you’re targeting one person, the Treasurer. That’s what you’re doing and it’s very obvious.
Yesterday it was alternative budget day and we didn’t get an alternative budget. We’ll get one today instead because the Greens always do their homework. It might be a very alternative budget., I’ll grant you, but it will nonetheless be a commitment by the Greens with their policies, not just the ones they oppose but the ones they propose, and they’ll be committed to an operational statement. They will show –
Mr Winter – Maybe when you’re up there with Angus you can help him with one.
Mr FERGUSON – I’m not sure why you would dare interject. You’ve had a shocking week and your leader had a shocking day yesterday. He ran with a lot of extra time up his sleeve and took his seat. He got nil applause, didn’t front the media, and not one of the Labor Party members have put any of their material up on their social media to share with the community. You’re embarrassed and well you may be. Labor’s policy was so poor. It was clearly written by the Waterside Workers Federation and the various unions there and he could not even front the media. No doubt we will get an alternative budget today and that would have been a reasonable thing for the opposition to do.
I also want to remind members opposite that the Labor legacy on finances is not flash. We had $1.5 billion in the Superannuation Provision Account and they spent it and when we came to office in 2014, a Treasury analysis showed a billion dollars in cumulative deficits over the forward Estimates.
A message of thanks does not need to be complex or overly long. A few sincere lines are enough to acknowledge the work that is too often unseen and performed at a high personal cost. We want to turn quiet gratitude into action to encourage the first responders who serve our community.
