Today is the day that Treasurer Michael Ferguson was meant to hand down the 2024/25 Tasmanian budget.

Instead, the Liberals put it off until 12 September – almost six months after the election – which is an unprecedented delay. In 2018, when the Liberals won an election in March, they delivered a budget in June.

Michael Ferguson can run from his budget disaster, but he can’t hide. The state budget position had been deteriorating at an alarming rate under his watch prior to the Liberals announcing $1.7 billion dollars of unfunded promises during the election.  

With Jeremy Rockliff already admitting Tasmanians are in for a “challenging” and “difficult” budget while refusing to rule out job cuts, it’s clear the Treasurer is scrambling as he grapples with record deficits and debt.

Minister Eric Abetz made his feelings on the state of Tasmania’s finances clear during his inaugural speech, describing current debt levels as “distressing” and saying “debt to pay for our regular expenditure is both unsustainable and ultimately immoral”.

When speaking to media today – on the day the budget was meant to be handed down – Mr Abetz should outline what his expectations are for the upcoming budget disaster.

Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer