Abetz’s Chain Saw Massacre – deep cuts to pay for 13 years of Liberal waste

Premier Rockliff has put Eric Abetz in charge of cutting jobs and the services Tasmanians rely on – to pay for 13 years of Liberal waste.

We thought the Premier had handed Eric Abetz a knife to gut the public service, but today’s budget shows he actually gave him a chainsaw.

The budget shows almost $1.5 billion in cuts.  There is no detail about what they are, but the $130 million in cuts to health just next year is the equivalent of sacking three nurses a day for the entire year.

Despite their staggering depth, the cuts won’t even wipe off the interest repayments on the Liberals’ 13-year waste bill – which now amount to $1.7 billion over the forward estimates.

Not even the Treasurer is pretending his cuts won’t have an impact, with the budget revealing that “consideration will be given to minimising impacts on frontline services”.