Cassy O'Connor MP | Greens Leader
Questions still remain about whether the Liberals attempted to use the COVID-19 Provision to fund their election promises after the Treasurer failed to give a straight answer in Parliament today.
The Greens asked Treasurer, Michael Ferguson, whether the Liberal government sought to use the COVID fund to secretly fund their election commitments – many of which were never properly announced – but his response only left us with more questions.
The Treasurer sought advice on our question, but when he returned to the lectern he deliberately narrowed the scope of his response, while also misrepresenting and misquoting the Greens.
If the government had never attempted to use the COVID recovery fund to pay for their election commitments, we think the Treasurer would have said so.
Instead we’re left with another cloud hanging over the Liberals as a result of their reflexively slippery and secretive approach to scrutiny.
The community remembers well how then-Premier Peter Gutwein took to the state to an early election to capitalise on his pandemic popularity.
Tasmanians now deserve a clear answer about whether that same Premier and his government sought to use COVID funds to pay for their dodgy electoral bribery fund.