A message from
Labor Leader Dean Winter.

Hi, I’m Dean. I’m grateful and proud to be a Tasmanian. I grew up in this beautiful part of the world, was supported through school, found good jobs, and now my wife Allison and I are raising our two children here.

Many of the people I meet want the same thing – for themselves, their children and grandchildren. Building that life hasn’t been as easy as it should be though; not for everyone and certainly not under this government. We can do much better. I know that because I’ve seen great leaders in action, driving Tasmania forwards. They inspired me to step up – not sit back waiting for someone else to get it right.

I was born on Tasmania’s glorious West Coast, where my dad worked at the Mount Lyell Mine and my mum was a nurse at the Queenstown Hospital. They were good, secure jobs that put food on our table and a roof over our heads, and gave them a secure foundation to give me opportunities in life.

All Tasmanians deserve the same security and the same opportunities. That’s why, under my leadership, Labor stands for safe, secure, well-paid jobs. We always have. We support workers and the key industries that employ Tasmanians, across all sectors including tourism and hospitality, education and care, and construction and resources.

School wasn’t easy for me as a young kid, but I got the support I needed to reach my potential. I want my kids, and indeed every Tasmanian, to be able to say the same. That starts with a great education. It shouldn’t be the case that I can go to one school where every child has a tablet device, and other down the road where most have never accessed a personal computer. Or one where a student is winning a national maths competition, and another where many kids come to school without lunch. The only way to make a meaningful impact on long-term inequality is by giving every child an equal chance. And when we give them that chance, I want our young people to have great career options here in our state, so they want to stay in Tasmania to work and raise their own families.

My Labor team and I know there is work to be done to build a better Tasmania. We know that great Labor governments build things and grow the economy, and through that we create good jobs, with good pay and good conditions. We also create the economic base to deliver better healthcare, better education, affordable housing and lower cost of living, and provide a strong social safety net that ensures no one is left behind.

We will work to hold the government to account, but we will also work hard to show Tasmanians that Labor offers a better alternative for Tasmania’s future.

Dean Winter MP
Tasmanian Labor Leader