Andrea Dawkins MP | Greens Member for Bass
Budgets are about values and priorities. Liberal backbencher Sarah Courtney MP's claims that Greens have forgotten northern Tasmania in our Alternative Budget is rubbish.
If Ms Courtney wants to find a Member for Bass who is missing in action, all she has to do is look to her Treasurer.
Treasurer Gutwein ignored Launceston's ailing water and sewerage infrastructure in the State Budget, content for sewage to flow into the Tamar, and onto the streets.
The aging infrastructure is a serious public health issue that needs fixing now, and the Treasurer and Health Minister have both ignored it in the Budget. Only the Greens have prioritised fixing the problem in our Alternative Budget.
We believe in a healthy Launceston, and our Alternative Budget also provided funds for Active Launceston, a community-based preventative health initiative.
We have also provided funding for palliative care beds in Launceston, so people can end their days in comfortable surroundings. This is a service Bass constituents have been crying out for.
A Green Government would not continue to fund the deal with the Hawthorn Football Club, a very wealthy Victorian club. There are plenty of community services that would put to good use a portion of the $15M being spent on the deal.
The so called 'Australian' Football League should support games in Tasmania, leaving the Tasmania taxpayer to employ teachers, nurses and build key infrastructure. That would be the best deal for Tasmania.
We would advise Ms Courtney to actually read the Greens Alternative Budget before making public comment about it.
Then, we would advise Ms Courtney to lobby her Bass Liberal colleague, the Treasurer, to do something about the stinking mess that is Launceston's water and sewerage system.