Tasmanian Greens Policies

The human story of lutruwita/Tasmania dates back tens of thousands of years. From kunanyi to kutalina, putalina to larapuna, wukalina to takayna, this is the story of people deeply connected to this island. The palawa/pakana people have survived invasion, dispossession, and attempted genocide. To this day they face discrimination, oppression, and the ongoing impact of colonisation. This must change.  

What we’ve done

The Greens have always fought for justice for Tasmanian Aboriginal people. Over 25 years ago we pushed the Liberal Premier to make an Apology to Tasmanian’s stolen generations. When the Greens were last in the balance of power we introduced Tasmania’s first dual-naming policy, and passed legislation to return further land to the Aboriginal community through the House of Assembly – only to be blocked by the Legislative Council. In the last term of Parliament we successfully pushed the government to fly the Aboriginal flag above Parliament House.

The Greens have consistently pushed for land returns, Truth, Treaty, and equality. We are committed to fighting for fundamental, lasting change for Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

Our plan

• Return land to Aboriginal ownership and management, including through a new reserve tenure.
• Reform legislation to ensure lutruwita’s Aboriginal heritage is properly protected.
• Support a respectful and effective model for Truth-telling and Treaty.
• Push to change the date of Australia Day to one that unites us all, and does not cause disrespect and trauma.
• Establish Aboriginal seats in Tasmania’s Parliament.
• Support Aboriginal people to repatriate ancestral remains and cultural objects held by colonial institutions.
• Commence an Aboriginal-led process to create a memorial to the warriors and victims of the Frontier Wars.
• Work with Tasmanian Aboriginal people to create self-run facilities that store and showcase cultural heritage and knowledge.
• Fully fund Aboriginal Education Services to ensure the ongoing viability and quality of services and make positions permanent.

We’re in a climate emergency and we need to act. Tasmania might be small, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have an important role to play in securing a safer future for everyone. By taking ambitious climate action we can bring down our own emissions and show the rest of Australia – and the world – a better way forward.

With a new government and the Greens in balance of power we’ll fight to:

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What we’ve done

The last time the Greens were in the balance of power we successfully protected 170,000 hectares of forests, and the carbon they store, by expanding the Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area. Protecting these forests has been a primary reason Tasmania has reached our ‘net zero’ emissions status. We also delivered Tasmania’s most comprehensive climate research to date, and the state’s first ever Forest Carbon Study.

In recent times we have moved for a statewide ban on new thermal coal mines, and twice tried to declare a climate emergency. Liberal and Labor politicians teamed up to vote against us every time.

Our plan

• Stop the release of millions of tonnes of carbon emissions every year by ending the logging and burning of native forests.
• Bring down emissions across all industries with strong annual targets and plans to achieve them.
• Ban all new fossil fuel projects, including the proposed new coal mine on the state’s East Coast.
• Reduce the potential for bushfires to spread by recruiting 30 additional rapid response firefighters.
• Roll out rooftop solar to all public and social housing.
• Expand support for other households to install solar and batteries.
• Require new car sales to be electric by 2030 and invest in more public charging stations.
• Invest in our communities to better protect them from extreme weather events and other climate impacts.
• Build environmental resilience to climate change by supporting and funding landscape repair and restoration.
• Reduce the risk and impact of flooding events by restoring flood basins and wetland areas.
• Incentivise and support farmers to reduce livestock emissions.
• Identify and protect agricultural land at risk from climate change.
• Implementing a strong, single-use plastics ban.

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Protecting Regional Communities by Fighting Remote Wildfires

Lowering Household Bills

Reducing Plastic Pollution

Trying to find an affordable place to live has become a bit of a nightmare.

It didn’t used to be so bad, but for years the Liberals haven’t built enough public and social housing. And they’ve sat on their hands while hundreds of homes are converted to AirBnBs, pushing rents up at a rapid rate.

Rents have been skyrocketing, but every time the Greens have tried to put a stop to unreasonable rent increases we’ve been blocked by Liberal and Labor politicians. They have left Tasmanians exposed to rent increases of hundreds of dollars a month.

We need affordable housing, not a billion-dollar stadium.

With a new government and the Greens in balance of power we’ll fight to:

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What we’ve done

The last time the Greens were in the balance of power we brought the public housing waiting list down to its lowest level in a decade through the work of a Greens Housing Minister. Since the Liberals took office the list has more than doubled in length.

When the Covid pandemic hit, it was our amendment that put a freeze on rent increases and put a stop to people being evicted during the emergency period.

In 2021 when we saw rent increases of hundreds of dollars a month becoming common, we tried to pass new laws to protect renters from unreasonable rent increases – but we were blocked by the Liberals and Labor. The same thing happened when we tried again in late 2023.

Our plan

• Build over 1,000 quality public homes each year by quadrupling annual funding.
• Stop unreasonable rent increases and end no-cause evictions.
• Put an immediate stop to new whole-home short stay rentals, and phase out existing listings in residential areas.
• Introduce minimum standards for appliances in rental properties e.g. heat pumps, ovens, fridges, washing machines.
• Support stamp duty exemptions for first home buyers.
• Provide homeless Tasmanians with secure tenancy and wrap-around supports with a “housing first” approach to homelessness.
• Establish a Department of Public Works to deliver well-planned public housing.
• Strengthen rights for tenants who own pets.
• Encourage more homes to be available for Tasmanians by introducing a 1% vacant property levy – except for legitimate uses, like shacks.
• Put a stop to predatory and unethical practices in the real estate industry.
• Reform residential land tax, establishing new higher rates for multi-million dollar property portfolios.
• Establish land tax exemptions for people who rent out a spare room at below market rates in their home.
• Reform regulations to support innovative housing options like tiny homes.
• Require seller transparency about a property’s condition by introducing a mandatory property disclosure system.
• Child and Youth Housing and Homelessness Plan to address the needs of young people extending to 25 years of age.
• Investment of at least $15 million a year into supported accommodation, crisis accommodation and transitional accommodation services for young people.
• Government engagement with youth homelessness service providers and stakeholders, to ensure organisational funding and workforce development is sustainable.
• Progress the Hobart City Mission’s proposal for Mountain View supported transitional accommodation.
• Support for Hobart City Mission’s night safe space proposal.
• Support for St Vincint de Paul Society and Hobart City Missions old Bethlehem House crisis and transitional accomodation.

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A Real Plan for 10,000 New Homes

Reining in Short Stay

Lowering Household Bills

Fair Rights for Renters

Youth Housing and Homelessness

The Liberals haven’t lifted a finger to help struggling Tasmanians – they’re too focused on their billion-dollar stadium. Labor are a little better, but they still aren’t doing enough – and they backed the stadium too.

With a new government and the Greens in balance of power we’ll fight to:

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What we’ve  done

The last time the Greens were in the balance of power we delivered lower power bills for 9,500 low-income households by upgrading insulation, heating, and appliances. We also delivered much-needed extra funding for critical community support organisations like neighbourhood houses and emergency food service providers. We negotiated a review of the structure of our energy government businesses that resulted in lower power prices, and delivered Australia’s first comprehensive cost of living strategy.

In Parliament this term, we moved to legislate free Metro bus travel and to put a stop to unreasonable rent increases, but Liberal and Labor politicians teamed up to block these measures.

Our plan

• Put a stop to unreasonable rent increases.
• Create a free public transport system across Tasmania – in all rural, regional, and urban areas.
• Bring down power bills by putting a cap on electricity prices.
• Halve the cost of car registration for concession card holders.
• Make public schools genuinely free by abolishing public school levies.
• Provide a $110 back-to-school supplies grant for every child living below the poverty line.
• Bring down power bills for renters by introducing minimum standards for appliances in rental properties e.g. heat pumps, ovens, fridges, washing machines.
• Provide funding to assist every public school to deliver breakfast programs.
• Make TasTAFE free for Tasmanians.
• Introduce means-based fines, where fines are set based on income.
• Help low-income households bring down power bills by subsidising rooftop solar, double-glazing, and insulation.
• Deliver more support for emergency food relief for struggling Tasmanians.
• Provide for a 50% grant of up to $1,000 for the purchase of an electric bike, for up to 250 students or concession card holders each year.
• Support stamp duty exemptions for first home buyers.

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Halving Car Rego Concession Costs

Easing Back-to-School Costs

Free Public Transport in Tasmania

Lowering Household Bills

Active Transport

Fair Rights for Renters

Relieving Food Insecurity

But even in 2024, with our ‘clean and green’ brand so widely celebrated, Liberal and Labor politicians continue to encourage destructive and polluting industries like native forest logging and industrial fish farming.

We’ve seen repeated efforts to privatise and develop areas inside the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and national parks.

With a new government, and the Greens in balance of power, we’ll fight to:

Get involved with our campaign

What we’ve done

The last time the Greens were in the balance of power we protected 170,000 hectares of carbon rich forests by adding them to Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area. We also won a ban on single-use plastic bags, delivered Tasmania’s most comprehensive climate research to date, and the state’s first ever Forest Carbon Study.

After being elected in 2014, the Liberals gutted many environmental programs, and put a stop to water quality monitoring in Tasmanian rivers. In this term of Parliament, the Greens successfully pressured the government to reverse this decision and restart the water quality program. We also drove increased investment in river health science and reform to water use fees.

With Liberal and Labor politicians trying to outdo each other in supporting damaging and polluting industries, it’s only been the Greens in Parliament who have stood for nature, for wildlife, and for environmental protection.

Our plan

• End native forest logging, and support forestry workers into new jobs in sustainable industries.
• Review and reform Tasmania’s environmental laws to ensure the protection of Tasmania’s wildlife, wilderness, and waterways.
• Protect the Maugean skate by removing fish farming from Macquarie Harbour and developing a basin recovery plan.
• Restore strong protections in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area management plan.
• Repurpose Forestry Tasmania to manage native forests for the protection and conservation of existing and future carbon stores in a heating climate.
• Reform the laws and regulations governing large-scale water use to ensure the long-term health of Tasmania’s rivers.
• Create a standalone Department of Environment and Water, and establish a truly independent Environment Protection Authority.
• Ban native duck hunting.
• Protect in formal reserves the 356,000 hectares of high conservation value forest threatened by the Liberals.
• Abolish the secretive EOI tourism process and replace the Reserve Activity Assessment process with a robust statutory process with merit-based appeal rights.
• Introduce a statewide ban on single-use plastics.
• Transition the industrial fish farming industry to closed-loop and land-based operations.
• Expand the wetland restoration program for kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary to include private land.
• Protect native wildlife by passing laws to ensure cats are confined to an owner’s property.
• Increase core funding to the Parks and Wildlife service, including for more rapid response remote area firefighters, park rangers, field officers, and a fully staffed Threatened Species Unit.
• Invest in community capacity building for Landcare, Coastcare, and Wildcare volunteers and restore funding to the Private Land Conservation Program.
• Renew Tasmania’s Marine Protected Area strategy, with a target of 10% of Tasmanian waters being no-take reserves.
• Prevent illegal firewood harvesting (‘woodhooking’) and sale.
• Make Invasive Species Eradication Plans and programs for Tasmania’s reserves, including for feral deer and for weed infestations.
• Develop a biodiversity strategy, including comprehensive monitoring, and an update of biodiversity planning maps.
• Develop a funding and implementation plan for the restoration of Lake Pedder.
• Build environmental resilience to climate change by supporting and funding landscape repair and restoration.
• Reduce the risk and impact of flooding events by restoring flood basins and wetland areas.
• Review the Tasmanian Reserve Estate, establish a new reserve tenure for Aboriginal-owned and managed national parks, and upgrade the reserve status of appropriate areas to national parks.
• Progress World Heritage recognition for areas outside the TWWHA, including the takayna/Tarkine, the Spero-Wanderer Wilderness, the West Coast Range, the Vale River Catchment, Granite Tor Conservation Area, and Recherche Bay.
• Visitor infrastructure and promotion for 8 big tree tourism sites.
• Protect the Southwest Sky Country by declaring a dark sky sanctuary, and work towards certification of the rest of the TWWHA
• Development of a strategic avitourism plan for Tasmania.
• Work with landcare and conservation organisations to promote, and help them develop, conservation tourism products and interpretation.
• Establish annual cadetships, traineeships, and apprenticeships in areas of skill shortages, including 5 rangers and field officers in parks.
• Provide $5 million a year spent on housing to attract key workers to regional communities, including remote parks workers.

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Protecting Regional Communities by Fighting Remote Wildfires

Nature-based Tourism

Reducing Plastic Pollution

Macquarie Harbour Worker Transition Plan

Parks and Protected Areas

An EPA with Teeth

The Liberals have let ambulance ramping spiral out of control, people are waiting years for important surgery, and if you call triple-zero it’s a roll of the dice if you’ll get an ambulance when you need it.

Health should be top of the to-do list, but Liberal and Labor politicians are backing a billion-dollar stadium instead.

Something needs to change.

With a new government and the Greens in balance of power we’ll fight to:

Get involved with our campaign

What we’ve done

The Greens have long been a strong voice for health staff and unions. And we’ve been working hard to support everyday people who have been let down by the health system.

In 2023 we successfully moved to hold a parliamentary inquiry into ambulance ramping. What this inquiry has uncovered – and the stories shared by patients, families, and health workers – has forced the government to finally start taking notice of this critical issue.

During this term of Parliament the government also adopted the Greens’ policy for investment in preventative health initiatives in communities. In 2020 we successfully lobbied the government to establish a dedicated eating disorder clinic.

Our plan

• Hire 87 new full-time paramedics by June 2025 – as per expert recommendations made to government.
• Ensure all Tasmanians can get an ambulance when they need it by recruiting a further 30 ambulance staff per year from July 2025 to 2030.
• Fix the nurse shortage by hiring 120 new nurses each year for the next six years.
• Improve support for the nursing and midwifery workforce by recruiting 25 clinical educators and 50 clinical coaches by 2030.
• Create a ten-year plan for building and upgrading health infrastructure that prioritises bringing forward the existing long-term plan.
• Expand on-site radiology and pathology services at the LGH to have 24/7 coverage.
• Expand the number of publicly available perinatal mental health beds to 12.
• Fund the creation of six new ambulance stations, upgrade 13 others to expand coverage, and increase the size of the ambulance fleet.
• Review the public health system to identify any reforms needed to ensure we are not dependent on private providers for particular services.
• Establish an Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs Unit and invest in new withdrawal management and rehabilitation beds in the public health system.
• Establish a dedicated public Mother and Baby Service as a community day program and residential stay service.
• Decriminalise personal drug use.
• Allow pill testing at events and festivals and establish permanent testing facilities.
• Expand the ‘Step Forward’ grants program for community-based preventative health initiatives to $5 million per year.
• Increase funding for LGBTIQA+ mental health support and school inclusion programs.
• Establish a recruitment incentive program to help hire 800 staff in areas of key skill shortages over four years – paying $5,000 per year towards HECS debt and counting the time spent studying in university towards long service leave.
• Extend the SmartFood and Move Well Eat Well programs to all public schools, to promote healthy eating and exercise.
• Establish a program for free, government-funded, smoking cessation products handouts in GP clinics.
• Develop a health and wellness App fund, for the Department of Health to develop their own Apps, provide public lists of curated, quality Apps, deliver grants to non-for-profits for the development of free health and wellness Apps, and to run competitions for budding amateur App developers.
• Provide a Healthy Eating Advisory service, to assist organisations and businesses promote healthier foods and drinks.
• Establishment of a Health Education and Research Centre in Launceston – for nurse and midwife training and professional development.
• provide public remote area first aid boxes to remote communities of the State.
• support for teleconference facilities in small rural hospitals, including specialist doctor and nurse assistance to help GPs assess and manage emergency patients.
• ban the placement of unhealthy food and drinks near checkouts in large retailers (big supermarkets and pharmacies).
• ban on television ads for unhealthy food and drinks during standard viewing hours for children.

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Fixing Public Service Skill Shortages

Investing in Preventative Health

Nursing and Midwifery Workforce

Tackling Junk Food Promotion to Children

Ramping Access and Flow Action Plan

While teachers and support staff do an amazing job and work tirelessly for their students, they have been let down by Liberal politicians who have made it clear they don’t truly believe in the importance of public education.

Achievement should not be determined by a student’s address or the wealth of their parents and carers, but right now in Tasmania, it is.

What we’ve done

Last time the Greens were in balance of power, a Greens Education Minister launched Tasmania’s extremely successful Launching into Learning program, focusing on early years education. We led the charge for national needs-based funding to be committed beyond a single year and have consistently advocated for investment and reform to ensure a quality public education system. During this term of government, we also successfully pushed for an independent review of disability funding in schools.

Our plan

• Tackle the teacher shortage by employing 195 new teachers.
• Provide students the specialist support they need by hiring 50 new school psychologists, 40 social workers, 70 speech pathologists, 30 education support specialists.
• Abolish public school levies, making public schools in Tasmania free.
• Make TasTAFE free for Tasmanians.
• Provide a $110 back-to-school supplies grant for every child living below the poverty line.
• Fund 30 hours of free tutoring for each student who falls below the national standard in reading, writing, spelling, or maths.
• Provide resourcing to assist every public school to deliver breakfast programs.
• Review the school funding model, with a particular focus on ensuring funding for students with educational disadvantages does not drop in schools with higher enrolments.
• Provide $20 million per year for further disability supports in schools.
• Establish a recruitment incentive program to help hire 800 staff in areas of key skill shortages over four years – paying $5,000 per year towards HECS debt and counting the time spent studying in university towards long service leave.
• Fully fund Aboriginal Education Services to ensure the ongoing viability and quality of services and make positions permanent.
• Extend the SmartFood and Move Well Eat Well programs to all public schools, to promote healthy eating and exercise.
• Reform the University of Tasmania Act 1992 to improve governance, accountability and academic outcomes, informed by the final report of the Legislative Council Select Committee once it is handed down.
• UTAS must stop the move into the CBD and confirm an ongoing commitment to the maintenance of the Sandy Bay campus for educational purposes, including respecting the built heritage, public open space and natural environment of the site.
• Create an independent external maintenance and capital expenditure oversight board for independent assessment of education infrastructure priorities.

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Easing Back-to-School Costs

UTAS Position Statement

Fixing Public Service Skill Shortages

Free Tutoring

Every dollar invested in public transport delivers huge social, economic, and environmental benefits. But despite the obvious positive impacts, the Liberal government has refused to invest the funds required to create a statewide public transport system that meets the needs of everyone – whether they live in a rural, regional, or urban area.

What we’ve done

The Greens have been consistent advocates for the expansion of frequency and accessibility in public transport.

The last time the Greens were in balance of power we established the state’s first high frequency bus corridor, delivering better access to services for tens of thousands of Tasmanians and having an immediate impact on patronage.

In Parliament this term, we moved a bill to make Metro bus travel free but were blocked by the Liberals and Labor.

Our plan

• Create a free public transport system across Tasmania – in all rural, regional, and urban areas.
• Invest $110 million over 4 years for more frequent bus and community transport services across rural, regional, and urban areas.
• Establish a Public Transport Authority, which will be responsible for managing the statewide public transport network.
• Support a Light Rail service between the CBD and Hobart’s northern suburbs.
• Identify bus priority measures such as clearways to help speed up bus travel.
• Provide for a 50% grant of up to $1,000 for the purchase of an electric bike, for up to 250 students or concession card holders each year.
• Establish a fund for annual investment in active transport infrastructure and fund matching local government active transport projects, like the Greater Hobart Cycling Plan.
• Provide secure bike and scooter parking at bus stop hubs on high frequency routes and ferry terminals, funding for infrastructure that links to public transport, and for active transport to be factored into new public transport infrastructure plans.
• Extend the Derwent ferry network, including convenient terminal access throughout the Greater Hobart Area, including the Brighton municipality.
• Provide funding to ensure bus stops are compliant with national disability standards.
• Real-time tracking of public transport.
• Update Metro Tasmania’s Disability Action Plan.
• Expand the Transport Access Scheme to include rideshare.

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Free Public Transport in Tasmania

Active Transport

For far too long Liberal and Labor politicians have prioritised the interests of big corporations instead of looking after everyday people and the environment.

This focus is no real surprise given the vast sums of corporate donations the major parties rake in every year.

To ensure the strength of our democracy now and into the future we need to clean up politics and make politicians accountable to voters – not wealthy donors.

What we’ve done

The Greens have been constant advocates for strengthening our democracy and holding politicians accountable. Unlike the Liberal and Labor parties, we lead by example on political integrity by disclosing all donations of over $1,500 on our Party website.

In this term Parliament we successfully passed a bill to ensure whistleblowers are better protected. We also saw the number of seats in the House of Assembly restored to pre-1998 levels – a reform the Greens have campaigned for across many years.

We moved comprehensive legislation to strengthen our electoral laws, which was blocked by the Government. We also moved a bill to lower the voting age to 16, but the Liberals and Labor voted it down.

Our plan

• Get the dirty money out of politics by banning corporations from donating to political parties and candidates.
• Stop the dishonest and deliberate use of misinformation by implementing ‘truth in political advertising’ laws.
• Make sure corruption is uncovered and punished by expanding the powers and jurisdiction of the Integrity Commission and creating an offence for ‘misconduct in public office’.
• Level the playing field in elections by introducing spending caps for individual candidates and political parties.
• Cap political donations at a total of $3,000 per donor, per electoral term.
• Require disclosure of political donations to be done in real time – not weeks or months after the donation was received.
• Reform and strengthen Tasmania’s information and transparency framework, including the Right to Information Act 2009.
• Ensure conduct of incumbent MPs during an election campaign can be investigated by the Integrity Commission.
• End ‘sports rorts’ styled pork-barreling grants, and invest $10 million in independently assessed community infrastructure grants.

Safe and supportive environments enable children and young people to thrive, fostering their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.

We must build a society that cherishes their rights, protects their dignity, and equips them with the tools to create a brighter and safer future. Distressingly, the harrowing stories heard through the Commission of Inquiry in the past four years has shown Tasmania is still a long way from this most important of goals.

Victim-survivors and whistleblowers courageously spoke out at the Commission of Inquiry because they believed change was possible. The Greens are committed to making sure this bravery was not in vain, and that real action is taken to deliver a safe and happy future for Tasmania’s children and young people.  

What we’ve done

The Greens have been demanding action to protect children and young people for decades – we first moved to establish a Commission of Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse way back in 2003.

We have spent years advocating for the closure of the Ashley Youth Detention Centre, and in 2021 finally secured a commitment from the government to take this step. We are deeply concerned they are not acting on this.

We have made the government’s response to the Commission of Inquiry response a central focus, and will continue to work to ensure every recommendation is implemented in a timely way.

Our plan

• Fully implement all the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse as soon as possible.
• Close Ashley Youth Detention Centre this year and replace it with a therapeutic model of care.
• Raise of the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
• Employ 240 new child safety officers by 2030.
• Abandon the Child Safety Services team model, and return to single dedicated case workers for each child in care.
• Set a maximum case-load for child safety workers, and provide a $10,000 bonus to workers each year until average caseloads meet safe levels.
• Bring out of home care policies and guidelines up to date, and make sure they stay current.
• Develop parent advocacy services to help parents of children in the child safety system aim to reunify with their children.
• Introduce a Human Rights Act for Tasmania.
• Ensure all young people who want a job can get one by establishing a Youth Job Guarantee Program.
• Provide resourcing to assist every public school to deliver breakfast programs.
• Develop a strategy to increase the use and effectiveness of police diversion programs for youth offenders.
• Establish a recruitment incentive program to help hire 800 staff in areas of key skill shortages over four years – paying $5,000 per year towards a HECS debt, and counting the time spent studying in university towards long-service leave.
• Establish annual cadetships, traineeships, and apprenticeships in areas of skill shortages, including 10 roles in child safety services and 5 roles in youth justice.
• Provide ten days of vicarious trauma leave for workers who regularly deal with trauma.
• Double payments for respite care, and increase the amount of funded bed nights by 50% (some 2,580 nights).
• Increase investment in programs that help young people transition from out of home care to living independently.
• Permanently increase investment in Intensive Family Engagement Services, to provide early intervention support and reduce the need for children to enter out of home care.
• Child and Youth Housing and Homelessness Plan to address the needs of young people extending to 25 years of age.
• Investment of at least $15 million a year into supported accommodation, crisis accommodation and transitional accommodation services for young people.
• Government engagement with youth homelessness service providers and stakeholders, to ensure organisational funding and workforce development is sustainable.
• Development of a youth jobs strategy.
• Fund the establishment of ten new toy libraries, a toy library grants program, and funding for the peak body for toy libraries.

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Fixing Public Service Skill Shortages

Investing in Child Safety

Youth Housing and Homelessness

Transitioning to a cleaner, fairer economy doesn’t have to mean jobs are put at risk – in fact it can be a huge opportunity to create new jobs and future-focused industries.

By prioritising sustainability and fairness, and supporting innovation, we can foster positive economic outcomes while ensuring a healthier planet for future generations.

The Greens have a positive vision for Tasmania that recognises the importance of supporting home-grown industry, regional communities, and young people’s ability to pursue their dreams without having to move to the mainland.

What we’ve done

Under a Greens Education Minister, Tasmania established its first Sustainability Learning Centre, delivering training for the sustainable industries of the future.

The Greens have consistently fought for a just transition into sustainable industry.

Our plan

• Establish a Youth Job Guarantee Program.
• Support forest workers and regional communities to transition into sustainable industries.
• A program to support new humanitarian entrants to join the workforce.
• Establish a recruitment incentive program to help hire 800 staff in areas of key skill shortages over four years – paying $5,000 per year towards HECS debts and counting the time spent studying in university towards long-service leave.
• Grow jobs in solar installation and energy efficiency upgrades through an accelerated new solar panel connections program and energy efficiency upgrade grants.
• Establish the Tasmanian Employment Office to develop Job Guarantee partnerships and provide ongoing advice on the future of work, and policies to relieve employment insecurity.
• Set up a Tasmanian Farm Ownership Incubation Program, which will rent out lots to aspiring agri-business entrepreneurs to give them the experience and proof of concept they need to attract investment.
• Establish a veterans employment program, including dedicated veteran positions in the State Service.
• Fund the peak body for social enterprise and facilitate new social enterprise initiatives via grant and loan programs.
• Support established, amateur and emerging app developers with our annual health and wellness App fund.
• Investigate options and take steps to ensure artists have a right to fair pay for their work.
• Visitor infrastructure and promotion for 8 big tree tourism sites.
• Protect the Southwest Sky Country by declaring a dark sky sanctuary, and work towards certification of the rest of the TWWHA
• Development of a strategic avitourism plan for Tasmania.
• Work with landcare and conservation organisations to promote, and help them develop, conservation tourism products and interpretation.
• Establishment of a Health Education and Research Centre in Launceston – for nurse and midwife training and professional development.
• Development of a youth jobs strategy.

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Fixing Public Service Skill Shortages

Nature-based Tourism

Supporting Multicultural Communities

Macquarie Harbour Worker Transition Plan

Supporting the Arts

By making big corporations pay their fair share we can fund the things that benefit everyday Tasmanians – affordable housing, a better health system, and real cost of living relief.

What we’ve done

Liberal and Labor politicians are focused on lining the pockets of their corporate donors, but the Greens have always stood up to big corporations and the top end of town. We have continued to fight to make the needs of the community the government’s top priority – rather than the needs of big multinational corporations.

Our plan

• Save hundreds of millions by not building a new stadium at Macquarie Point.
• Raise $60 million per year by aligning mining royalties and rents with the national average.
• Raise $8 million per year by restoring casino tax rates to pre-2022 levels.
• Charge a 10% royalty on salmon grown in state-owned waters.
• Introduce a 75% tax on property speculators who make a windfall profit simply because land is rezoned.
• Establish a 1% vacant property levy – except for legitimate uses, like shacks.
• Reform residential land tax, establishing new higher rates for multi-million-dollar property portfolios.
• Phase in full cost recovery for water licences.
• End taxpayer funded subsidies to the racing industry.

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Paying for our Plan

In 2014, the Liberals came into office with a populist ‘tough on crime’ agenda. Despite evidence from around the world showing this approach would be a disaster, they went ahead anyway.

Ten years later and the justice and corrections system is now at breaking point.

Our plan is to move towards a therapeutic, restorative justice system that’s based on evidence, reduces recidivism, and makes our community safer.

What we’ve done

The last time the Greens were in balance of power, a Green Corrections Minister achieved improvements in the system, significantly reducing the rate of reoffending and incidents of assaults in prisons. This work was quickly reversed when the Liberals took office.

After years of lobbying from the Greens, we have finally seen commitments to close Ashley Youth Detention Centre, raise the age of criminal responsibility, and move to a more therapeutic youth justice system.

In this term of Parliament, we drafted a bill to decriminalise personal drug use and undertook extensive stakeholder and community consultation on the issue.

Our plan

• Fully implement all the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse as soon as possible.
• Close Ashley Youth Detention Centre this year and replace it with a therapeutic model of care.
• Pass a Human Rights Act for Tasmania.
• Establish a bail Hostel in Hobart, to stop people being denied bail because they lack stable accommodation.
• Establish a specialist alcohol and drug court, and remove the Court Mandated Diversion participant cap.
• Remove criminal penalties for the possession of drugs in personal-use quantities.
• Increase funding to community legal centres and Legal Aid.
• Raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
• Establish a real ban on sexual orientation and gender identity conversion practices, fully implementing the recommendations of the TLRI.
• Establish a compensation scheme for people who have convictions expunged under the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017.
• Development of a strategy to increase the use and effectiveness of police diversion programs for youth offenders.
• Introduce targeted violence (hate crime) legislation.
• Fully fund interpreting costs for all clients of community legal services, upgrades to client management systems, and for the employment of social workers and financial counsellors at community legal centres.
• Funding for legal outreach services to regional, rural, and remote areas.
• Introduce programs to educate Tasmanian drivers at risk of offender/reoffending.
  

Diversity and inclusion make Tasmania a better place. Every LGBTIQA+ Tasmanian deserves to live freely, authentically, and without fear of discrimination or prejudice.

What we’ve done

The Tasmanian Greens were the first party in Tasmania to support the decriminalisation of homosexuality and cross-dressing, and the first to table a Significant Relationships bill, an Anti-Discrimination Bill and a Same-Sex Marriage Bill. We have also been at the forefront of LGBTIQA+ inclusion in schools and health care.

Working with advocates and across the Parliament, we were part of introducing and passing world-leading gender-affirmation laws in 2019.

We continue to be the strongest voice in Parliament for the rights of LGBTIQA+ Tasmanians and are committed to pursuing the reforms needed to end discrimination and achieve real equality.

Our plan

• Establish a real ban on sexual orientation and gender identity conversion practices, fully implementing the recommendations of the TLRI.
• Increase funding for LGBTIQA+ mental health support and school inclusion programs.
• Establish a compensation scheme for people who have convictions expunged under the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017.
• Implement an LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Act, including a LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Commissioner.
• Introduce targeted violence (hate crime) legislation.
• Deliver a dedicated LGBTIQA+ community mental health service, LGBTIQA+ community legal service and a community LGBTIQA+ healthcare centre.
• Establish LGBTIQA+ Pride Centre as a safe place for LGBTIQA+ community members, and a place for services and organisations to be located.
• Maintain and expand twin community peaks for policy-development WIO (health and wellbeing) and Equality Tasmania (law reform).
• Prohibit medically unnecessary interventions on children with innate variations of sex characteristics.
• Ensure diverse grassroots voices are heard and acted on with an annual Tasmanian Rainbow Conference and regular LGBTIQA+ community surveys.
• Increase funding for the LGBTIQA+ Community Fund by $250,000 per year.
• Introduce training for all education staff, health care providers, corrections, Service Tasmania, and police and emergency workers in LGBTIQA+ inclusion.
• Improve school inclusion by establishing pride groups, developing curriculum materials related to LGBTIQA+ issues, and appointment of LGBTIQA+ inclusion leaders.
• Push for the necessary changes to  allow gay and bisexual men, transgender women and non-binary people who have sex with men to donate whole blood as is the case in Canada, the UK, France and Israel.

Animals are sentient beings that have the ability to feel and to suffer. But despite the Greens’ efforts to make change, that’s still not recognised by Tasmanian law. In fact, the Tasmanian government has shown they’re not willing to enforce the weak laws we already have, let alone strengthen them to stop animal cruelty and neglect.

Whether it’s the systemic cruelty exposed in Tasmanian slaughterhouses, the shameful treatment of animals in the racing industry, or the legal killing of hundreds of thousands of native animals each year, there is evidence everywhere that change is desperately needed.

While Liberal and Labor politicians continue to turn a blind eye to animal cruelty, the Greens are fighting to protect animals and their rights.

What we have done

The last time the Greens were in the balance of power we successfully negotiated a ban on 1080, a phase-out of sow stalls and battery hen farming, we delivered stronger animal rights laws and pushed for government services to only buy free-range eggs.

In 2015, we initiated the Inquiry into Greyhound Racing and have continued to lobby for an end to this cruel industry.

During this term of Parliament, we also tried to amend the Animal Welfare Act to include mandatory CCTV monitoring in slaughterhouses, but this was blocked by Labor and the Liberals.

Our plan

• Reform the Animal Welfare Act 1993 to strengthen standards, monitoring, compliance, and penalties, as well as enshrining animal sentience.
• Establish an independent Animal Welfare Commission, with strong powers.
• Ban greyhound racing, rodeos, and native duck hunting in Tasmania.
• Reinstitute a ban on 1080 poison.
• Fully fund the RSPCA for 100% of Tasmania’s inspectorate work.
• Phase-out factory farming, including battery hen farming and beak trimming, and a complete ban on sow stalls.
• Introduce strong regulatory requirements for slaughterhouses, including mandatory, independently monitored CCTV and incident reporting frameworks.
• Review dog breeding regulations and ban puppy farms.
• Increased funding to animal rights and rehoming organisations.
• End taxpayer funded subsidies to the racing industry.

The Greens understand a vibrant, healthy, and prosperous community means valuing every person for who they are. Everyone has human rights, and these rights must always be respected.

People should be able to access the services they need, regardless of where they live, their gender, race, income, sexuality or ability. In a wealthy nation like Australia, no-one should be left behind.

What we’ve done

The last time the Greens were in the balance of power we strengthened the law to better protect older Tasmanians, established an Elder Abuse Help Line, delivered training in elder abuse prevention to community and public health workers and funded a statewide advertising and awareness raising campaign.

Greens ministers provided an additional $3 million for students with disability, a new rights-based Disability Services Act, and worked with governments and the disability sector to launch the NDIS.

Our plan

• Introduce a Human Rights Act for Tasmania.
• Extend elder abuse prevention and awareness programs.
• A program to support new humanitarian entrants to join the workforce.
• Gender-blind paid parental leave in the Public Service.
• Develop resources to encourage private employers to offer childcare salary packaging, and a government co-payment of 10% of costs for salary packaged childcare.
• $1 million more each year to advocacy organisations.
• A Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Framework and Toolkit.
• Provide funding to ensure bus stops are compliant with national disability standards.
• Additional funding to RSL Tasmania to expand mental health, housing and employment outreach to veterans.
• Invest in infrastructure to improve disability access to beaches and other public sites.
• Establish a dedicated contact point for inquiries about disability accessible sites and to report disability accessibility issues.
• End ‘sports rorts’ styled pork-barreling grants, and invest $10 million in independently assessed community infrastructure grants.
• Ensure building maintenance costs are including in core funding grants to arts organisations, and ensure grants are multi-year to allow for certainty and proper planning.
• Provide energy efficiency upgrade grants to community sector organisations.
• Investigate options and take steps to ensure artists have a right to fair pay for their work.
• Provide structural independence and autonomy to Government-run arts organisations to remove political interference.
• Invest in creative spaces across the state, including in regional Tasmania.
• Support efforts to ensure that freedom of expression is central in all forms of art.
• Double arts grants to individuals and increase grants to organisations by 50%.
• Fund the development of an anti-racism strategy for Tasmania, including a community engagement and education campaign.
• Update Metro Tasmania’s Disability Action Plan.
• Expand the Transport Access Scheme to include rideshare.
• Fund the establishment of ten new toy libraries, a toy library grants program, and funding for the peak body for toy libraries.

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Supporting Multicultural Communities

Supporting the Arts

Relieving Food Insecurity

While the major parties rake in big corporate donations and prioritise the interests of developers and the top end of town, the Greens have remained a strong and consistent voice for everyday people.

We understand the importance of local representation, proper process, transparency and the right to appeal decisions – and we will work to restore these elements to the planning system.

What we’ve done

We strongly opposed the Liberals’ attempts to undermine the voices of community in planning – including the ‘major projects’ legislation, development assessment panels, and the statewide planning scheme.

We have been a consistent voice for communities threatened by inappropriate development, and helped put a stop to projects like the Northern Prison at Westbury, the huge luxury hotel at Kangaroo Bay, and the Cambria Green mega-development.

Our plan

• Keep planning in the hands of councils.
• Reform the planning system to make planning independent, protect local character, and empower communities.
• Establish a user-friendly planning appeals system that delivers decisions in plain English and does not involve lawyers (unless both parties consent to involve lawyers).
• Return decision, policy making, and advisory powers to the Tasmanian Planning Commission.
• Establish a biodiversity monitoring program, as well as maintaining critical biodiversity overlays.
• Appoint a Chief Engineer, State Architect and State Demographer.
• Review existing State Policies and develop new State Policies on climate change, public consultation, settlement, transport and infrastructure, health and wellbeing, biodiversity and cultural preservation.
• Reform regulations to support innovative housing options like tiny homes.
• Require seller transparency about property condition by introducing a mandatory property disclosure system.