THE state opposition has promised to recruit more teachers, health workers and police while delivering a better bottom line, prompting the government and unions to deride the alternative budget as too good to be true.
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Liberal leader Will Hodgman yesterday unveiled the alternative budget, which includes $280 million of new spending over the forward estimates, including 105 extra teachers, 110 health workers and 14 new police officers.
The initiatives would come out of an extra $507 million of savings identified.
The bulk of the savings come from ripping $95 million out of Forestry Tasmania and cutting 500 FTE public service positions over two years.
Liberal treasury spokesman Peter Gutwein has promised to deliver a $35 million surplus in 2015-16, a year ahead of the government's projected $9 million surplus.
``We will invest in the economy, we will ensure that we provide the confidence that business needs and we will rebuild the jobs in Tasmania,'' Mr Gutwein said.
While the alternative budget includes more details on health and education policies, details were scant in other areas.
On plans to merge the infrastructure and economic development departments, Mr Gutwein was unable to guarantee all existing services would be maintained.
``Every single useful service provided by those two departments will still be provided,'' he said.
The merger is now estimated to save $5 million a year, up from the $3 million savings predicted when the policy was first announced last year.
Mr Gutwein did not identify where the 500 public sector jobs would go, but said it would be easy.
``We're looking around a 1 per cent reduction in the public sector over the next two years. That's all. That can easily be managed,'' he said.
Community and Public Sector Union secretary Tom Lynch said that was not good enough.
``With the detail we have now I'd say it's not realistic,'' Mr Lynch said.
The Liberal Party also wants to save $18.5 million a year on supplies, consumables and consultants - more than the extra money they plan to pump into tourism marketing and extending schools to year 12 combined.
Premier Lara Giddings accused Mr Hodgman of being a ``travelling salesman promising everything to everyone''.
Ms Giddings said the $95 million for Forestry Tasmania the Liberals planned to cut was a legal requirement and the ailing business risked going broke without it.
The state government also criticised the opposition for assuming the carbon tax would be scrapped before 2014-15, but still relying on big returns from Hydro Tasmania.