Opposition Leader Rebecca White has outlined an alternative vision for Tasmania's COVID-19 recovery, declaring that job creation will be the keystone of Labor's plan to rebuild the state.
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But Labor would take the budget into deficit four years in a row to fund its plan.
In her budget reply speech yesterday, Ms White said the 2020-21 state budget, handed down last Thursday, was "not a plan for jobs, but for unemployment".
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"Last week's budget fell short of what is needed in this moment," she told the State Parliament.
"We must lift our ambition.
"[Our] plan will create and support 35,000 jobs - 10,000 more jobs than announced in the budget. Importantly, it is geared towards creating high quality, secure, full time jobs."
Labor's jobs plan consists of a raft of initiatives designed to stimulate employment in the state and revitalise the skills and training sector.
If it was to win government, Labor would invest an additional $22.5 million in TasTAFE over four years to improve the quality of training, as well as deliver training in regional Tasmania. It would also launch a "root and branch" review of the governance of TasTAFE and its planning and delivery processes.
Other commitments include a $15 million program to provide 500 apprenticeship guarantees for workers over the age of 35, $15 million for projects that will promote climate action and $150 million to revamp Tasmania's port network.
"Labor's jobs plan is grounded in the fundamental belief that creating jobs requires a multi-dimensional approach, delivered in partnership with the private sector," Ms White said. "If we think a 'return to normal' is the best we can aspire to upon recovery, then we are selling ourselves short."
Premier Peter Gutwein said Labor would increase Tasmania's net debt by more than $400 million.
"Lazy Labor's latest glossy brochure outlines a redirection of government spending of $27.7 million, which in a $7.5 billion budget, means they have agreed with 99.7 per cent of our budget delivered last week," he said. "After five days of complaining about the budget and its level of debt, they have announced a plan to keep the budget in deficit longer by adding $234 million to expenditure, plunging the state into deficits for the period of the forward estimates.
"It's no surprise Labor's glossy brochure uses a lot of red toner, as there is absolutely no pathway back to surplus for the budget under Labor's plan."
The centrepiece of the 2020-21 budget is a $5 billion infrastructure spend over four years, funded by debt.
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