Rebecca White Q&A: Labor is in election mode and wants your vote

Examiner editor Craig Thomson sat down with the Tasmania Labor leader for a one-on-one chat and confirmed Labor is definitely in election mode.

I often hear the question, who is Rebecca White, and what does she stand for? Please tell us.

I'm a farm girl who is very passionate about regional Tassie. I am lucky to have two beautiful kids, and I want them to have a great future here in our state. It is one of the motivators I have to ensure that all kids have a great future. I am very proud of Tasmania. I love this place. I've lived here most of my life, and I want for us to capitalise on the things that we do well and make sure we continue to do that but also look after one another, just like a country community where I grew up where people look after each other and look out for one another. That's the ambition I have for us as a state.

What key areas would a Labor government focus on in its first year of office?

So one of the critical areas that a Labor government would focus on during its first year is the cost of living pressures. We understand that the cost of living is a big challenge for many Tasmanians. So we've committed that within the first 100 days of government, we would change the legislation to cap power prices and reintroduce the rebate scheme for business users that would assist in tackling the cost of living challenges for businesses and households. We'll also get to work very swiftly on rolling out our repair of the health system plan and upgrading our services at regional hospitals and health facilities. Because we know that if people can access care close to where they live and sooner, not only is it better for them, it's a better spend of taxpayer money. The cost of living and health would be our key priorities coming to the government and working to deal with the housing crisis affecting many Tasmanians. We've announced some policies there already. And just this week, I spoke about how we'd be working with the business community and industries across our state to make sure we can grow a diversified economy and advanced economy for Tasmania, that those are the things that we do well to do them better. We would provide more education opportunities because some people are currently unable to progress their ambition to go to University or study and do things that will transform our community and economy. This is important not just for tomorrow but for the next 10 years.

So some critics point to the Labor Party having the Federal Labor executive running Tasmania Labor. How do you answer those critics? You can't govern the state if you can't govern yourselves, right?

Well, the intervention has been a positive thing. We've had more resources come to the state we've had a real focus on making sure that we've got our governance structures in a contemporary framework. We're the oldest continuing political party in the country. So it's important that we modernise and plan for the time, and that's what's happening now. We're ensuring we're in the best shape possible to contest the next election. I'm very happy with how the Labor Party has been performing. My job as the leader is guiding our policy development and discussing our vision for Tasmania, but the organisation is doing its job, unlike the Liberal Party, who openly talk about themselves and criticise one another. The Labor Party is not doing that.

What about the candidate pre-selection process because I know there was an issue with that at the last election. How will the candidates be pre-selected this time around?

We've had very strong responses from people who want to be candidates for the Labor Party at the next election. And the day that Laura Alexander and John Tucker resigned from the Liberal Party, we got to work reaching out to people who we thought would be good candidates to represent our state. And the response has been really positive. So we are getting prepared for the next election. The organisation will undertake the process for pre-selection. There will be expressions of interest called for positions, and people will nominate and then, of course, the usual process of checking credentials as voters would expect us to do with candidates.

How would you convince the AFL to give Tasmania a team with no stadium when they say the only way Tassie will get a team is with a stadium? And, Do you support a Tasmanian AFL football team?

We've been clear. The stadium is the wrong priority for the state when we are dealing with a cost of living health and housing crisis, and we're very disappointed that Jeremy Rockliff could not negotiate a better deal that didn't link our license with a stadium. And many Tasmanians have expressed their frustration and anger with that result.

We support a Tassie football team, and I want to be clear about that; we always have. I understand how important this is and the work that has gone on for decades for us to realise that dream.

It's really up to the Premier now to explain how he will deliver on the commitment and the agreement he signed. The Parliament will have a role to play when we are presented with an order for a project of significance by the government. And our job in that is to ensure that the details are there for the Tasmanian community to see this project and understand transparently exactly what's expected of the taxpayer.

So will you vote in favour of the stadium being declared a project of state significance?

So we've been asking the government to share the details with us about what will be included in that order. We understand that they need to provide the federal government by Oct 1 with a precinct plan and a master plan for that site. And I expect that members of Parliament see that before we're asked to vote on an order. I also understand that there has yet to be any Treasury advice provided to the government about this project, which is the largest infrastructure project the state has embarked upon. And it's our view that it should be made available before the Parliament considers this as a project. Our job is to scrutinise the details. It's very hard to do that when the government is not being very transparent.

OK, but what our readers want to know is, do you have a plan to tackle that unfairness with the AFL? No stadium, no team, is what they say.

It depends largely on when the election is called. Because if the Premier's true to his word and the election is in May 2025, then quite a lot of this work would have already been progressed under the agreement that the Premier has signed with the AFL.

If the election is sooner than that, maybe there's some scope, but the reality is the agreement that's been signed by the Premier, and the CEO of the AFL sets out several timelines that have to be met for the delivery of not only the stadium but the performance centre that needs to be completed by the end of 2025.

So the government and the Premier have signed a deal with many very tight timelines. There are very significant penalty clauses if they fail to meet those timelines. It's up to Jeremy Rockcliff to explain how he's going to deliver on this.

It's difficult for me to know what a future Labor government will inherit at that point. But my commitment to Tasmanians is that I will be transparent if advice hasn't been asked for from important agencies like Treasury, we will be asking for that. We'll be sharing that because this is taxpayer money we're talking about, and we think this is such a significant project that needs much greater transparency.

What policy is most important to you to implement if you become Premier?

We've made a very clear commitment to tackle the cost of living. And we understand that's hurting Tasmanians at the moment, and one of the critical things government can do is to manage the cost of energy. We own companies that generate power for us, and we should be able to pay a price uniquely Tasmanian, so that would be a key focus for us. And that would be my commitment on day one of a Labor government that we would tackle that because not only does that help drive down the cost of living for families and businesses, but we also need to invest in generating more energy in our state so that businesses can grow and expand and create more jobs. We're currently energy-constrained. We're hearing from businesses who want to expand but can't access more energy. So that's the main focus moving forward. We need to generate more we need to build wind farms. We need to invest in more renewable energy generation. There should be infrastructure, economic activity and jobs and prosperity. But we also need to be smart about how we're using the energy that we do produce and thinking about how we can improve the energy efficiency of public buildings and public housing, making people's lives better, at the same time, reducing energy consumption that can be diverted to support industry growth.

Many people I've talked to have been impressed by the fact that you're now coming up with policies. You're not just saying no. Are you thinking of government when you form these policies, or are you still thinking through the prism of opposition?

Oh no, we are thinking of government.

The policies that we've outlined to Tasmanians to date are policies that we will take through to government if we are elected. We'll add a lot more to those we've already outlined as we get closer to an election. But I want Tasmanians to understand what a Labor government hopes to achieve for Tasmanians. I want them to have confidence that we have the realities of dealing with the cost of living in front of our minds. We want to start addressing the challenges in health, to start building more houses and working with industry to achieve that outcome, to offer more opportunities for Tasmanians to get a good education and to share their dreams to enter University, and to do that with the backing of the state government.

So how will your policy ideas help people further their education and, or get an education that gets them into a vocation?

We'd work with the University of Tasmania to offer scholarships to Tasmanians who have accepted a place at University that they have then had to decline because they cannot afford to go.

I was shocked to hear when I sat down with the University that more than 1000 Tasmanians offered a place every year at our University but can't take it up, simply because of cost. And that might be to do with transport. It might be to do with accommodation. It is the challenge many people face when they move from the region to pursue higher education. We can make a difference there that will transform the lives of those people. It will be fundamentally transformative for our entire economy because many students will come from regional areas or our poor suburbs, which will change how those communities feel about themselves. And those students are more likely to go and work in those communities when they graduate. They'll stay here in Tasmania to contribute to our workforce needs and the growth of our economy.

Not only that, though, we understand many people have ambitions not to go to University but to pursue a trade or a vocational education. TAFE is a proud institution in Tasmania, and we want to continue to grow and enhance that. One of the challenges we're hearing regularly is there aren't enough courses offered for students to take places.

We need to grow our teaching workforce in TAFE. So I announced the Labor government would offer scholarships for 20 people to come out of the industry to gain their qualifications to be a TAFE teacher and that we would support them with a wage subsidy for that six months while they undertake their training, as well as cover the course cost. That is the incentive for them. To be able to put back into their areas of expertise as a teacher also means that we grow our capacity to train hundreds if not thousands, more Tasmanians because we can offer the courses that the industry needs.

HASCU is the state's largest union but has disaffiliated with the state Labor Party. Has there been any attempt to bring them back into the fold?

The largest unions in the state would cover the health workforce, and, of course, there is the teacher's union, the education union. None of them are affiliated with the Labor Party. Our job is to work with all the unions, and I do that whether they're affiliated or not because we understand that they have the best insight into what workers face daily in their jobs.

My role and the role of our caucus is to work collaboratively with everybody who wants to see better outcomes for Tasmania-from unions to people who come into my office and ask for help or share their ideas. I will work with anybody who wants to make Tasmania better.