Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie has called Labor "totally irrelevant" after the party's housing spokesperson Jason Clare questioned the wait for details about her housing deal with the federal government.
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Mr Clare was in Launceston on Friday to meet with City of Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten, and took the opportunity to highlight a supposed delay in the government releasing its plan for social housing in Tasmania.
Senator Lambie demanded Tasmania's $157 million historic public housing debt to the federal government be waived in exchange for her support for income tax cuts. Details of the plan were supposed to be released within eight weeks, according to Finance Minister Mathias Cormann speaking in the Senate.
The eight-week deadline passed on Thursday.
Mr Clare said Tasmanian voters would not forget if the government backed down on its commitment.
"What I'm asking today is for the government to announce the details of the deal they made with Senator Lambie, and to make sure they honour the deal that was made to Tasmania," he said.
MORE ON TASMANIA'S HOUSING CRISIS:
"Jacqui is a tough lady, and the government would be very stupid to break a promise that they made to her.
"She's one of those senators that will make or break the government. If they dud her in this, they'll regret it."
The winter break is scheduled to finish in the second week of September, when the matter is likely to be subject to further discussions.
Senator Lambie said Labor had no credibility when it came to housing policy.
"Labor did nothing about our housing debt for six years in government and now the only thing they're doing is complaining that everyone else is taking too long to fix it," she said.
"Apparently Jason Clare figured the best way to check how things are progressing was to fly from Sydney to Launceston and complain in front of a bunch of cameras and microphones.
"Jason, maybe try calling me first.
"The reality is Labor do not have a seat at the table in this negotiation. They are totally irrelevant."
Housing debt discussions 'constructive': government
The Tasmanian Government was offered early access to the National Housing Finance Investment Corporation to fast-track the construction of housing through social organisations.
Housing Minister Roger Jaensch has also met with his federal counterpart multiple times to discuss Tasmania's housing crisis.
He said Labor's input was unhelpful.
"State Labor had 16 years' worth of opportunities to do something about the historic housing debt. They chose to do nothing and now their federal counterparts are just throwing rocks from the sidelines," Mr Jaensch said.
"Discussions are ongoing, they have been constructive and Tasmanians can be assured that the Hodgman Liberal Government is working hard to deliver positive outcomes for Tasmania."
Federal Housing Minister Michael Sukkar has been contacted for comment.
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