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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Liberal leader's unity call after $1.5m party bailout
A state Liberal leader is defending a million-dollar bailout to save his predecessor's political career and reunite his fractured party. The Victorian Liberals' administrative committee on Thursday night agreed to lend former leader John Pesutto $1.55 million to settle legal costs owed to first-term MP Moira Deeming. Opposition Leader Brad Battin voted to support the deal, with the money to be paid directly to Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto set to repay it at market-rate interest. Mr Battin denied he had effectively chosen to side with Mr Pesutto in his defamation dispute with Mrs Deeming, which has engulfed the party since March 2023. "I would say anyone that states that is factually wrong," he told reporters on Friday. "My side is on the Victorian Liberal Party to ensure we can put a line in the sand and move forward." Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis. It left him facing bankruptcy, which would have triggered his exit from parliament and a subsequent by-election in his marginal seat of Hawthorn, unless the debt was paid by the end of July. Mr Pesutto, who has already coughed up $315,000 in damages, had only raised about $750,000 through wealthy backers and a GoFundMe campaign. The loan for the remainder of the money is not drawn from party campaign or taxpayer funds. Political scientist Zareh Ghazarian said the party had "dodged a bullet" by avoiding a politically dangerous by-election. He said the public episode demonstrated deep divisions within the Liberals' parliamentary ranks and could have consequences at the ballot box. "All political parties have divisions ... but it's really important that the party appears united," the Monash University political lecturer told AAP. "I'm reminded of the line that Bob Hawke used in the lead up to the 1990 election that 'if you can't govern yourselves, you can't govern the country'." Dr Ghazarian said Mr Battin and the party had "plenty of time" to mend fences before the November 2026 election, but could not afford more internal spotfires. The next potential hiccup could come during candidate preselections, expected to start in September. Mr Battin plans to speak with his colleagues to stress the need to present a credible alternative to the Victorian Labor government, in power for all but four years since 1999. "I am confident we'll be going to the next election with a united team," he said. "Victorians are sick of the Liberal Party talking about the Liberal Party." Mrs Deeming, who was expelled from the Liberal party room over the furore before returning in December, did not appear to subscribe to Mr Battin's unity message. She compared her treatment to victims of institutional abuse. "They failed to protect her when she was attacked," Mrs Deeming posted. "They punished her for defending herself ... this is what institutional abuse looks like." Mr Battin said he would speak to Mrs Deeming, but refused to comment on the substance of her post. An offer to defer some of Mr Pesutto's legal bill in exchange for Mrs Deeming's guaranteed preselection and him swearing off trying to return as leader for three years was rejected. The proposed deal led to a complaint to the state's corruption watchdog, but Mrs Deeming denied claims of blackmail. Mr Pesutto said he was grateful and humbled by the committee's decision. "I am totally committed to continuing my work as the member for Hawthorn and also serving as a member of Brad's team," he said in a statement. Deputy Premier Ben Carroll was similarly relieved for Mr Pesutto and his family, but argued the "never-ending schoolyard spat" showed the Liberals were unfit to govern. A state Liberal leader is defending a million-dollar bailout to save his predecessor's political career and reunite his fractured party. The Victorian Liberals' administrative committee on Thursday night agreed to lend former leader John Pesutto $1.55 million to settle legal costs owed to first-term MP Moira Deeming. Opposition Leader Brad Battin voted to support the deal, with the money to be paid directly to Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto set to repay it at market-rate interest. Mr Battin denied he had effectively chosen to side with Mr Pesutto in his defamation dispute with Mrs Deeming, which has engulfed the party since March 2023. "I would say anyone that states that is factually wrong," he told reporters on Friday. "My side is on the Victorian Liberal Party to ensure we can put a line in the sand and move forward." Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis. It left him facing bankruptcy, which would have triggered his exit from parliament and a subsequent by-election in his marginal seat of Hawthorn, unless the debt was paid by the end of July. Mr Pesutto, who has already coughed up $315,000 in damages, had only raised about $750,000 through wealthy backers and a GoFundMe campaign. The loan for the remainder of the money is not drawn from party campaign or taxpayer funds. Political scientist Zareh Ghazarian said the party had "dodged a bullet" by avoiding a politically dangerous by-election. He said the public episode demonstrated deep divisions within the Liberals' parliamentary ranks and could have consequences at the ballot box. "All political parties have divisions ... but it's really important that the party appears united," the Monash University political lecturer told AAP. "I'm reminded of the line that Bob Hawke used in the lead up to the 1990 election that 'if you can't govern yourselves, you can't govern the country'." Dr Ghazarian said Mr Battin and the party had "plenty of time" to mend fences before the November 2026 election, but could not afford more internal spotfires. The next potential hiccup could come during candidate preselections, expected to start in September. Mr Battin plans to speak with his colleagues to stress the need to present a credible alternative to the Victorian Labor government, in power for all but four years since 1999. "I am confident we'll be going to the next election with a united team," he said. "Victorians are sick of the Liberal Party talking about the Liberal Party." Mrs Deeming, who was expelled from the Liberal party room over the furore before returning in December, did not appear to subscribe to Mr Battin's unity message. She compared her treatment to victims of institutional abuse. "They failed to protect her when she was attacked," Mrs Deeming posted. "They punished her for defending herself ... this is what institutional abuse looks like." Mr Battin said he would speak to Mrs Deeming, but refused to comment on the substance of her post. An offer to defer some of Mr Pesutto's legal bill in exchange for Mrs Deeming's guaranteed preselection and him swearing off trying to return as leader for three years was rejected. The proposed deal led to a complaint to the state's corruption watchdog, but Mrs Deeming denied claims of blackmail. Mr Pesutto said he was grateful and humbled by the committee's decision. "I am totally committed to continuing my work as the member for Hawthorn and also serving as a member of Brad's team," he said in a statement. Deputy Premier Ben Carroll was similarly relieved for Mr Pesutto and his family, but argued the "never-ending schoolyard spat" showed the Liberals were unfit to govern. A state Liberal leader is defending a million-dollar bailout to save his predecessor's political career and reunite his fractured party. The Victorian Liberals' administrative committee on Thursday night agreed to lend former leader John Pesutto $1.55 million to settle legal costs owed to first-term MP Moira Deeming. Opposition Leader Brad Battin voted to support the deal, with the money to be paid directly to Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto set to repay it at market-rate interest. Mr Battin denied he had effectively chosen to side with Mr Pesutto in his defamation dispute with Mrs Deeming, which has engulfed the party since March 2023. "I would say anyone that states that is factually wrong," he told reporters on Friday. "My side is on the Victorian Liberal Party to ensure we can put a line in the sand and move forward." Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis. It left him facing bankruptcy, which would have triggered his exit from parliament and a subsequent by-election in his marginal seat of Hawthorn, unless the debt was paid by the end of July. Mr Pesutto, who has already coughed up $315,000 in damages, had only raised about $750,000 through wealthy backers and a GoFundMe campaign. The loan for the remainder of the money is not drawn from party campaign or taxpayer funds. Political scientist Zareh Ghazarian said the party had "dodged a bullet" by avoiding a politically dangerous by-election. He said the public episode demonstrated deep divisions within the Liberals' parliamentary ranks and could have consequences at the ballot box. "All political parties have divisions ... but it's really important that the party appears united," the Monash University political lecturer told AAP. "I'm reminded of the line that Bob Hawke used in the lead up to the 1990 election that 'if you can't govern yourselves, you can't govern the country'." Dr Ghazarian said Mr Battin and the party had "plenty of time" to mend fences before the November 2026 election, but could not afford more internal spotfires. The next potential hiccup could come during candidate preselections, expected to start in September. Mr Battin plans to speak with his colleagues to stress the need to present a credible alternative to the Victorian Labor government, in power for all but four years since 1999. "I am confident we'll be going to the next election with a united team," he said. "Victorians are sick of the Liberal Party talking about the Liberal Party." Mrs Deeming, who was expelled from the Liberal party room over the furore before returning in December, did not appear to subscribe to Mr Battin's unity message. She compared her treatment to victims of institutional abuse. "They failed to protect her when she was attacked," Mrs Deeming posted. "They punished her for defending herself ... this is what institutional abuse looks like." Mr Battin said he would speak to Mrs Deeming, but refused to comment on the substance of her post. An offer to defer some of Mr Pesutto's legal bill in exchange for Mrs Deeming's guaranteed preselection and him swearing off trying to return as leader for three years was rejected. The proposed deal led to a complaint to the state's corruption watchdog, but Mrs Deeming denied claims of blackmail. Mr Pesutto said he was grateful and humbled by the committee's decision. "I am totally committed to continuing my work as the member for Hawthorn and also serving as a member of Brad's team," he said in a statement. Deputy Premier Ben Carroll was similarly relieved for Mr Pesutto and his family, but argued the "never-ending schoolyard spat" showed the Liberals were unfit to govern. A state Liberal leader is defending a million-dollar bailout to save his predecessor's political career and reunite his fractured party. The Victorian Liberals' administrative committee on Thursday night agreed to lend former leader John Pesutto $1.55 million to settle legal costs owed to first-term MP Moira Deeming. Opposition Leader Brad Battin voted to support the deal, with the money to be paid directly to Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto set to repay it at market-rate interest. Mr Battin denied he had effectively chosen to side with Mr Pesutto in his defamation dispute with Mrs Deeming, which has engulfed the party since March 2023. "I would say anyone that states that is factually wrong," he told reporters on Friday. "My side is on the Victorian Liberal Party to ensure we can put a line in the sand and move forward." Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis. It left him facing bankruptcy, which would have triggered his exit from parliament and a subsequent by-election in his marginal seat of Hawthorn, unless the debt was paid by the end of July. Mr Pesutto, who has already coughed up $315,000 in damages, had only raised about $750,000 through wealthy backers and a GoFundMe campaign. The loan for the remainder of the money is not drawn from party campaign or taxpayer funds. Political scientist Zareh Ghazarian said the party had "dodged a bullet" by avoiding a politically dangerous by-election. He said the public episode demonstrated deep divisions within the Liberals' parliamentary ranks and could have consequences at the ballot box. "All political parties have divisions ... but it's really important that the party appears united," the Monash University political lecturer told AAP. "I'm reminded of the line that Bob Hawke used in the lead up to the 1990 election that 'if you can't govern yourselves, you can't govern the country'." Dr Ghazarian said Mr Battin and the party had "plenty of time" to mend fences before the November 2026 election, but could not afford more internal spotfires. The next potential hiccup could come during candidate preselections, expected to start in September. Mr Battin plans to speak with his colleagues to stress the need to present a credible alternative to the Victorian Labor government, in power for all but four years since 1999. "I am confident we'll be going to the next election with a united team," he said. "Victorians are sick of the Liberal Party talking about the Liberal Party." Mrs Deeming, who was expelled from the Liberal party room over the furore before returning in December, did not appear to subscribe to Mr Battin's unity message. She compared her treatment to victims of institutional abuse. "They failed to protect her when she was attacked," Mrs Deeming posted. "They punished her for defending herself ... this is what institutional abuse looks like." Mr Battin said he would speak to Mrs Deeming, but refused to comment on the substance of her post. An offer to defer some of Mr Pesutto's legal bill in exchange for Mrs Deeming's guaranteed preselection and him swearing off trying to return as leader for three years was rejected. The proposed deal led to a complaint to the state's corruption watchdog, but Mrs Deeming denied claims of blackmail. Mr Pesutto said he was grateful and humbled by the committee's decision. "I am totally committed to continuing my work as the member for Hawthorn and also serving as a member of Brad's team," he said in a statement. Deputy Premier Ben Carroll was similarly relieved for Mr Pesutto and his family, but argued the "never-ending schoolyard spat" showed the Liberals were unfit to govern.
Sky News AU
7 hours ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Sky News host Peta Credlin unleashes on Victorian Liberals and their former leader John Pesutto over $1.55m bailout 'mess'
Last December, Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay $300,000 in damages as well as foot Ms Deeming's legal fees, which equated to about $2.3 million. Mr Pesutto had already raised just over $750,000 in order to help pay off his debt and was pushing for an agreement which would see the Liberal Party, or a party-linked investment fund, loan him the remaining $1.55 million. The party agreed on Thursday night to loan him the remaining amount, which means he can officially repay Ms Deeming the $2.3 million he owed ahead of the deadline next week, narrowly avoiding bankruptcy in the process. Watch Peta Credlin's analysis and her full program with a Streaming Subscription. The Victorian Liberal Party was deeply divided over whether its funds should be used to bail out Mr Pesutto, who was found to have defamed Ms Deeming as someone who 'associates with Nazis'. Credlin, the former chief of staff to Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott, told viewers on Thursday, before the Victorian Liberal Party held a meeting about the loan, that the money did not come from a bank as Mr Pesutto would not put his home up for security. She said the funds instead came from party volunteers - the 'unsung heroes of the Victorian Liberal Party' - which directly contradicted Liberal Party President Greg Mirabella and the current incumbent Phil Davis, as well as Mr Pesutto himself, who said not a dollar of Liberal Party funds would be used for legal bills. Credlin lashed Mr Pesutto and quoted him saying: 'I will not be asking the party to cover any legal fees .' The Sky News host said Mr Pesutto was a lawyer who 'clearly doesn't keep his word'. 'Worryingly, reports today that Pesutto's successor as leader, Brad Batten, supports this loan not because he's a fan of Pesutto, but because he doesn't want to face a by-election for Pesutto's seat, which will happen if he can't pay his debt and Paz is bankrupted,' Credlin said. Bankruptcy disqualifies MPs from holding a seat in Parliament in Australia. Credlin said the motivation to bail out Mr Pesutto was 'fair enough', but added no political party should be 'frightened' of an election. 'Even now, after being out of power for the better part of 25 years, this is the Victorian Liberal Party that is still focused on itself, not the voters who were desperate for change,' Credlini said. 'A party room of malcontents who still are intent on scoring points against each other instead of working together to save Victorians from a government that wants to tax them into oblivion.' Credlin said Mr Pesutto had gotten himself and the party into a 'mess of his own making' and accused him of being 'spooked' by former premier Daniel Andrews which led him to acting 'irrationally'. In closing, Credlin addressed Mr Pesutto by his first name and said: 'Sorry John, you've made your bed, now lie in it.' In a statement, Victorian Liberal Leader Brad Battin said he supported the Party's Administrative Committee to pay Ms Deeming the $1.55 million owed to her by Mr Pesutto to 'satisfy the Federal Court costs order'. 'This decision was not about personalities or past disputes – it was about protecting the interests of the people we serve and ensuring our Party can continue its important work,' Mr Battin said. 'The loan arrangement ensures the Party avoids further financial and reputational damage, allows us to put this matter behind us, and refocuses our efforts where they belong – holding Australia's worst government to account and building a stronger, fairer future for Victoria.' In a social media post, Ms Deeming posted an image of herself with superimposed words reading: 'They failed to protect her when she was attacked. They punished her for defending herself.' 'They financially profited off her trauma,' the post continued. 'They told the world they did her a favour. This is what institutional abuse looks like.'
SBS Australia
7 hours ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
'I didn't feel that way': Sussan Ley on the Coalition alienating migrants at the last election
The new Liberal leader sat down with the Feed to discuss how the party got it so wrong. Source: SBS Sussan Ley didn't feel the Liberal Party alienated migrants in the last federal election, but accepts that some voters felt that way. "I want to know why they felt that way," she told The Feed. "Because I certainly, as the deputy leader in the last parliament, never, ever felt that way." In an interview with The Feed, Ley spoke about a range of criticism directed at the party, conceding that it was rejected by a number of voting groups. Ley's predecessor, Peter Dutton linked record levels of migration — which peaked at 536,000 in 2022-23, but which Treasury estimates will return to 260,000 next year — with exacerbating demand on housing supply and pushing up prices. Simon Welsh, director of a social and political research firm with connections to the Liberal Party, Labor Party, and The Greens, said that in diverse communities, this rhetoric turned voters away from the Coalition. Ley said it made her "sad" to hear this feedback from voters, adding that "I accept that maybe was the case for a variety of reasons". Ley was born in Nigeria and moved to the United Arab Emirates before she was two, following her father's work for British intelligence services. In a 2014 interview with SBS, Ley said she would often accompany him on MI6 fieldwork around the Persian Gulf — experiences, she says, that helped shape her worldview. She later moved to the UK at age 10, before moving to Australia when she was 13. "I'm a migrant to this country, but I've got the great fortune of, you know, looking white with the same language," she said, acknowledging that the experience wouldn't be the same for "someone who doesn't have that". Nonetheless, she said: "I felt very different and excluded at school. I have a sense, actually, of what that feeling is. And it's not good enough for people to feel like that. I worry about social cohesion." Ley said she wants to understand where feelings of exclusion among multicultural voters came from as the Liberal Party reckons with its devastating defeat at the 2025 federal election. "We have two seats in urban Australia, in the cities," she said. "We have record-low votes with youth and with women. And historically, the scale of this defeat is unprecedented." "So I want to make that point because I accept it. I heard the message." In research by emeritus professor Peter McDonald and professor Alan Gamlen of the ANU Migration Hub, they said that migration was "being weaponised during this election campaign to elicit panic and sway voters". They outlined several reasons for the record migration levels during 2022-23, including an influx of students, backpackers and temporary workers who unable to travel during the pandemic, as well as several visa extensions under the Morrison and Albanese governments. They added that, in the recent budget, Treasury estimated the number will fall and, by 2027, migration levels in Australia could plummet to historic lows. Simon Welsh from RedBridge said: "The Liberal Party cannot form government in this country again until it figures out how to talk to young Australians and diverse Australians." And while they've been doing the rounds post-election, he's not sure he's seen anything radically promising just yet. "The only way that the Liberals and the Coalition can reach out to young people is by slaying some of their sacred cows," he said. "While the Coalition is running around talking about opposing net zero and walking away from the Paris Climate Accord, they are never going to win back large numbers of young people across this country, because climate is more than just an environmental issue." "For young people, when they look at climate, they see an economic issue. So they see economic impacts of it on cost of food, cost of living." "Until the Coalition are willing to catch up with young people on that issue. They will never win them over in large numbers, and that's just one issue." Asked why young Australians turned away from the party, Ley said she wasn't sure they "found us relevant at all". "Did we sort of send a message to them in the right way? Maybe. Maybe not. Did we have policy offerings that … resonated with them? Probably not." "Did they look at us and see reflected back the agenda that they wanted? Probably not. So, yeah, I think it was a fail on many levels." Sussan Ley's historic elevation as the first woman to lead the Liberals comes at a moment of reckoning for the party, particularly regarding the issue of women voters abandoning it, Ley said. The disconnect with female voters became especially clear to Ley at polling booths during the final weeks of the campaign. "Often there was a queue, so you had a chance to talk to people in that queue. And it was quite interesting. A lot of the couples, the man was taking the Liberal Party, 'How to vote' card, but the woman was sort of just basically ignoring us," she said. After a while, she said she asked them for their honest feedback. "If you ask someone for their honest feedback, particularly a woman, usually you get it. That's a good thing," she said. "And, you know, they would say, well, yeah, 'No, we're not really, you know, we're not interested in the Liberal Party.'" The Liberal Party has long been plagued by what's often referred to as a 'women problem' — a label given for the ongoing criticism about the number of female MPs (fewer than their male counterparts) and broader concerns over how the party treats women. Prominent figures from within its own ranks, including former deputy leader Julie Bishop and former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, have publicly called out the culture of misogyny they say exists within the party. "There have been times in that building where women have not been treated well. Women have not been treated appropriately. And women have been let down," she said. Ley said she had, at times, felt dismissed by male colleagues. "I don't say that it was something that was egregious or crossed a line," she said. "It was simply perhaps that feeling that you weren't being taken seriously in a room full of men or that feeling that, if you said something, nobody really paid attention. But then when a man said it, suddenly everybody listened." However, Ley maintained the party's culture had improved and that "misogyny" went far beyond the party to extend more broadly to parliament and other workplaces she'd been in. While her leadership is a historic first for the party and there is some "novelty" in being the first, she hoped the focus would soon shift. "I know I'm the first female leader. I don't sort of think of myself like that, other than to know that it sends a positive signal to women," she said. "I don't mind, in one sense, if the novelty wears off and people would just get on with the job."
ABC News
8 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Former Vic Opposition Leader John Pesutto avoids bankruptcy
The Liberal Party's administrative committee has agreed to save former Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto from bankruptcy as he struggles to cover the legal costs he owes colleague Moira Deeming.
ABC News
8 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Tasmania's election campaign should be fought on the budget, business leader and economist say
When Labor declared it had tabled a motion of no-confidence in Premier Jeremy Rockliff, it listed three main reasons. They were the potential privatisation of public assets, the failure to deliver the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries on time, and the state of the Liberal government's budget. On that budget, here are a few quick figures: Now, with Tasmania in an election campaign, business leaders and economists are hoping to hear the major parties' plans for repairing the balance sheet. The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Michael Bailey says as the election is largely about the budget, the campaign should be fought on it. "Tasmania has a spending problem at the moment. "We need to make sure that we can get our spending back under control." That partially refers to the fact the state has a history of spending more than it budgets for, particularly in health. Here's how the Liberals and Labor have been treating the issue of spending and budget repair: Elections are often a big-spending affair. The Liberals have previously been accused of pork barrelling (slang for bribing the electorate for their votes), but they say they are simply listening to community concerns. Labor also promised a whole heap of community grants last election. The main difference is the relevant department would eventually assess them to decide if they were worthy of spending money on. There are also a whole heap of other policies, such as the stamp duty exemption for first home buyers, that will cost taxpayers money. And those spending promises really add up. Economist Saul Eslake says Treasury data shows the 2018 and 2021 elections each added $1.4 billion of spending to the budget without any mention of how to pay for the promises. Last year's was even more expensive. "[The levy is] about the only election commitment that hasn't been met since the election. "Labor would've spent an additional $2 billion over five years if they had won. "So, to hope that that wouldn't be repeated in the election campaign would be a bit like Samuel Johnson's definition of second marriage — a triumph of hope over experience." At the moment, 40 per cent of Tasmania's money comes from the carve up of GST. Around a third is own-source revenue. Mr Eslake has put forward several options to raise more money, including collecting more payroll tax from businesses, raising car registration fees, adding a duty on the purchase of expensive new motor vehicles — "with appropriate concessions for pensioners and other low-income earners". He also suggested switching stamp duty to a land tax and increasing mining royalties. He says Tasmania collects about $40-50 million a year less than it would if its scheme was equivalent to those of other states. Money could also be found by asking the salmon industry to pay royalties for the use of Tasmanian waters. "That wouldn't solve Tasmania's problems, of course, but it would make a useful contribution to reducing the deficit over time." All of these ideas have been rejected by the major parties. Mr Rockliff also pointed out that legislative changes in 2023 meant the salmon industry now pays for its own regulation. "The salmon companies cost government. They return that to government, so it's cost neutral and that's been a significant reform under our government," he said. Another way to raise revenue, selling off state-owned companies and government business enterprises has been ruled out by both major parties already. As have any new taxes. Growing the economy is also a big part of how both major parties plan to get the state out of debt. As part of that, the Liberals have been waging a war on red tape, and if some of Labor's new policies are anything to go by, they're planning to do the same. When asked about increasing revenue, Labor leader Dean Winter talked about growing the economy by unlocking $25 billion in renewable energy developments. Premier Jeremy Rockliff on the other hand said investments in key services such as health, education and community safety would help increase revenue. The TCCI's Michael Bailey is less worried about the revenue side of things. "You don't give someone with a spending problem more money," he says. Mr Bailey wants the parties to find efficiencies in the public service, arguing that it's grown by 30 per cent since the COVID pandemic. "We know that we're borrowing to pay for those wages," he said. "They do wonderful work, but it's simply too big for what Tasmania can afford right now, so we would argue that that's the first thing that should be looked at." Both major parties have revealed their plans to find some savings, and they include the creation of new units. The Liberals' plan, which was announced in March, is called the Efficiency and Productivity Unit (EPU); Labor has the Review and Evaluation Unit (REU). Two names and slightly different descriptions for two things that will do very similar things — examine the effectiveness and value for money of government programs to try and identify savings. The Liberals are assuming they will be able to cut spending to the point where in three years' time overall government expenses will be less than they are this year. They hope to find savings through: Labor's plans to "save the budget more than half a billion dollars", while not outlined in an alternative budget, were part of leader Dean Winter's budget reply speech. They hope to do this by: This list is far from extensive, however, none of the policies have been costed by treasury. If the party that wins government does not right the ship, Mr Eslake estimates Tasmania is heading to a debt of $16 billion by 2035 with repayments to hit $750 million a year. "We've gone from in the middle of the past decade, being a net creditor, that is having more money in the bank than the government owes by way of debt, to now having debt and other liabilities," Mr Eslake said.
