Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Some of you may have noticed that on the weekend there was a change of government in my home state of Tasmania. After 16 years, the Labor government has finally been moved on into a place where I hope they remain for many years to come. For the last four years we have had the double whammy of Labor being in government by virtue of support from the Greens. The damage that has been done to my state in the last four years is palpable, and it was made worse by the fact that in the federal arena we also had a federal government that was beholden to the support of the Greens and Independents that was, for my state, a disaster.

I was so pleased the other day when I came across a document I had not seen until then. It talks about the first 100 days—it is the implementation plan for the incoming Hodgman Liberal government. It makes very interesting reading. It is a plan to deliver strong and stable majority government that is capable of getting things done in my home state of Tasmania. It is broken up into a number of headings, and I will go through those in a bit more detail. But clearly this election was one of the most important that my state has faced in probably a generation.

We understand, and Will Hodgman understands, that the challenges Tasmania faces are not going to be fixed overnight, so he has a long-term plan in place for Tasmania's future. We do not want to be a state continually extending a hand with the palm facing upwards; we want to be able to fend for ourselves. Tasmania has done it in the past, and we can do it again. We will do it by delivering strong and stable majority government—a government that is building a modern economy to create jobs. And I would refer you to the theme you are seeing in the federal arena at the moment: building a modern economy and cutting red and green tape to encourage investment.

I would also refer you to the economic growth plan we outlined during the course of the federal election campaign. One of the key announcements during that campaign was for a Tasmania major projects approval agency, which will be located in Launceston in the electorate of my colleague the member for Bass. It will be a one-stop shop for major projects. Some people may be aware that there has been one major project in the north of the state—the pulp mill, which has been vilified, undermined from day one. Having this sort of agency will avoid those sorts of things happening in the future.

Will Hodgman is about fixing the budget, and I just want to touch briefly on the budget of Tasmania. Probably the best example of where my state has gone wrong in recent years is the budget that former Premier Giddings brought down in 2010-11. In the 2012-13 budget there was a forecast of a $57 million surplus. They were good words, and I think every Tasmanian was wholeheartedly behind the Premier at that time in seeing Tasmania's budget reset on a course to delivering more sustainability. But what actually happened was that the government delivered the biggest deficit the state had ever seen: $358 million. I just do not understand how we could have got it so wrong. But Will Hodgman has a plan. I note that in the last couple of days, from day one, on the Sunday after the election, he has met with the heads of his department and he is starting to put in place the things that need to be done.

There is a framework in which they will be rebuilding the Tasmanian economy and re-establishing competence in competent and capable government. This will be done as follows. They will provide strong and stable majority government to get things done and will not be beholden to secondary parties and have to negotiate with others. They will be able to make the clear decisions for which this government has a mandate. It will make Tasmania an attractive place for investment, and they will build a modern economy and rebuild essential services.