Promise tracker of Liberals, Labor and Greens election pledges to Tasmanians

Posted Monday 19 Feb 2024 at 6:18pmMon 19 Feb 2024 at 6:18pm, updated 5 hours agoWed 21 Feb 2024 at 11:41pm

What are the major parties promising Tasmanian voters?

Tasmanians will head to the polls on March 23.

Here's what the Liberals, Labor and the Greens have announced so far.

Health

A blue graphic of two hands holding a floating heart

Liberals

Labor

Establish a fund to upgrade regional hospital infrastructure, include 24/7 emergency care for regional and rural hospitals.
Free university degrees for 150 health workers, to work at local hospital for three years.
Retain private maternity services in the state's North-West, conduct a statewide review of maternity services.
Upgrade six regional ambulance stations.
Amend Launceston General Hospital (LGH) master plan to include new, additional childcare services.

Greens

Hire 87 new full-time paramedics by June 2025.
Recruit 30 new ambulance staff per year for five years, recruit 25 clinical educators and 50 clinical coaches by 2030, fund 10 new positions for psychiatric emergency nurses.
Six new ambulance stations, upgrade 13 others.
Establish Mother and Baby Service as community day program and residential stay service.
Expand public perinatal mental health beds to 12.
24/7 on-site radiology and pathology services at the LGH.
Pill testing at events and festivals, permanent testing facilities.

Housing

Liberals

Introduce 5 per cent levy on all short stay accommodation (Airbnb, Stayz) listings, to be paid by the visitor.
First home buyers to pay zero stamp duty on properties up to $750,000 until June 30, 2026.
Maintained target of 10,000 new social and affordable homes by 2032.
Amend Residential Tenancy Act to restrict landlords from refusing tenants who own pets.
Offer 100 per cent land tax exemptions for property owners who either build-for-rent or switch a short-stay home to a long-term rental.
Provide a $200 a week cash incentive and guaranteed rental income for two years to 500 property owners who cap their rents between 25 and 30 per cent of median rate.

Labor

Expand shared equity scheme.
Construct 1,000 new rental homes.
Immediate pause on all new permits for entire home short stay accommodation (Airbnb, Stayz).
Provide $5 million to upgrade public and social housing.

Greens

Vacant property levy of 1 per cent – excluding shacks.
Higher land tax for owners of multi-million-dollar property portfolios.
Mandatory property disclosure system for transparency about condition of properties at sale.
End no-cause evictions, strengthen laws to prevent unreasonable rent increases, increased rights for renters to own pets.
Minimum standards for appliances in rental properties.
Halve the cost of stamp duty for first home buyers.
Rooftop solar to all public and social housing.
Subsidised rooftop solar, double glazing, insulation for low income households.

Cost of living

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Liberals

Fares on all Metro and rural bus routes and Derwent ferries to be halved from June 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

Labor

Reduce electricity prices by 21.5 per cent, cap price rises to 2.5 per cent through legislation.
Build 30 new early childhood centres in partnership with the private sector, grants for 20 centres to expand outside school hours – estimated 4,500 additional childcare places.
Expand childcare services in 50 locations, extend after hours care in 20 locations.
Allocate $75 million for capital works to add childcare at government-run sites (schools, TAFE, public transport hubs, hospitals).
Scrap charges for connecting or disconnecting electricity when moving into a new house.
Fares on public transport, including Derwent ferries, to be halved.
Incentivise landlords to make energy efficient upgrades to their rental properties.
Provide $1,000 for upgraded or new heat pumps, insulation, solar panels, household, battery storage systems, better glazing, lighting, hot water system or air conditioning.

Greens

Cap on electricity prices.
Halve the cost of car registration for concession card holders.
Free public transport statewide.

Education

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Liberals

Labor

Expand Ticket to Play program.
Allow parents to pay for school uniforms on quarterly basis.

Greens

Free TasTAFE for all Tasmanians.
Abolish public school levies.
Employ 195 new teachers.
Hire 50 school psychologists, 40 social workers, 70 speech pathologists, 30 education support specialists.
Provide 30 hours of free tutoring for students who fall below national standard in reading, writing, spelling, maths.
Funding for breakfast programs in all public schools.
$110 back-to-school supplies grant for children below the poverty line.
Fully fund Aboriginal education services, make positions permanent.

Jobs

Liberals

Labor

Greens

Establish the Tasmanian Employment Office to develop Job Guarantee partnerships.

AFL Stadium

Liberals

Cap government's contribution to the stadium at $375 million.

Labor

Renegotiate AFL deal.

Greens

Does not support an AFL stadium at Macquarie Point.

Infrastructure

Liberals

Labor

Greens

Supports light rail between Hobart CBD and northern suburbs.
Extend Derwent ferry network.
Establish a Department of Public Works — focus on public housing planning.

Transport

Liberals

Fares on all Metro and rural bus routes and Derwent ferries to be halved.
$32 million for three new park-and-ride facilities in northern Tasmania — at Legana/West Tamar, Kings Meadows/Youngtown, and East Tamar/Northern — and a Launceston bus interchange.
Three new ferry terminal to be built by 2028 — at Lindisfarne, Wilkinson's Point and Sandy Bay.

Labor

Fares on public transport, including Derwent ferries, to be halved.

Greens

Free public transport statewide.
Create a Public Transport Authority.
Require all new car sales to be electric by 2030, invest in more public charging stations.
A 50 per cent rebate for electric bike purchases, for 250 students or concession card holders.

Law and order

Liberals

Labor

Greens

Decriminalise personal drug use.
Establish a specialist alcohol and drug court.
Means-based fines, based on the person's income.
Make 'misconduct in public office' a new offence.
Raise age of criminal responsibility to 14.
Introduce targeted violence (hate crime) legislation.

Climate and environment

A blue graphic of a river, trees and sun over the words 'environment and climate change'

Liberals

Labor

Greens

End native forest logging, transition for forestry workers.
Create a standalone Department of Environment and Water.
Statewide ban on single-use plastics.
Target of 10 per cent of Tasmanian waters to be no-take reserves.
Ban all new fossil fuel projects.

Business

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Liberals

Labor

Rebate scheme to cap power prices for contracted customers at $100/MWh.

Greens

Increase mining royalties and rents.
Ban corporations from donation to political parties and candidates.
Transition fish farm industry to land-based operations, 10 per cent royalty on salmon grown in state-owned waters.

Community

Liberals

$100,000 to promote Gambling Exclusion Scheme, examine introducing Automatic Responsible Gambling Systems for poker machines, engage with venues for facial recognition technology.
Plans to implement mandatory card-based pre-commitment technology for poker machines.
Committed to current Indigenous treaty and truth-telling process.

Labor

Committed to current Indigenous treaty and truth-telling process.
Supports plans to implement mandatory card-based pre-commitment technology for poker machines.

Greens

Ban sexual orientation and gender identity conversion practices.
Supports a "respectful and effective" model for Indigenous treaty and truth-telling.
Reform legislation to protect Indigenous heritage, introduce new reserve tenure for land returns.
Establish Indigenous seats in parliament.
Commence Indigenous-led process to create memorial to warriors and victims of Frontier Wars.
Establish LGBTIQA Pride Centre.