It is a great honour to be with you here today to support my friend, Rebecca White, in her bid to become the next premier of Tasmania.

It's good to actually be physically here with you and not on a Zoom call. I know we've got the Zoom thing down pat now, but it is good to see all your faces in 3D.

Just as it's been great to be here for five days on the campaign trail in the north, in the northwest, in central Tasmania, and here in the south.

I’ve travelled and I’ve talked with people who’ve told me they’ve about how they’re being let down by the dastardly combination of a Liberal Government here in Tasmania and a Liberal Government in Canberra that can be characterised with one simple idea.

They are all smirk and mirrors. All arrogance, no delivery.

So I do want to thank all the rank and file members, true believers and volunteers, as well as the former premiers, leaders and current and future Members of Parliament who are here today.

Labor does does rely upon the spirit and the energy of our volunteers.

And when it comes to making a difference to people's lives - service delivery, health, public housing, education, community services - it is state governments that are in the frontline.

So whilst for some, years in government might be an academic exercise, for the people who we seek to represent, they really need a Labor Government, they need Rebecca White and Labor to win on the first of May.

At our national conference recently, I said that when Scott Morrison leaves office, Australians will be left scratching their heads, saying, ‘What was the point of the Liberal Government over eight years?’

Endless announcements, followed by non-delivery.

Empty promises, interspersed with sneaky and cynical attacks on the rights of working Australians.

Now, of course, there's the ultimate failure.

Scott Morrison had just one job this year, which was the rollout of the vaccine.

He set the targets. He talked himself up. He said Australia was at the front of the queue.

And now we know we're way back in about 92nd, somewhere between Rwanda and Albania.

It is not good enough in 2021.

The same thing could be said of Tasmania's seven-year-old Liberal Government.

A Liberal Government that's shooting for 11 long years in office.

When I was Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister, I came here and made announcements.

And then I came here and drove on the roads that we built, came and had a look at the rail infrastructure, the largest rail investment ever, went on the West Coast Wilderness Railway, walked on the Three Capes Track.

Made a promise, then delivered.

That's the fundamental idea here. It's not that hard.

But it's too hard for the Tasmanian Liberals, which is why they going to an early election.

It is Peter Gutwein putting his hand up and saying, ‘I'm not capable of serving a full term as Premier’.

Well, if that's the case, then Tasmanians should take him at his word, and make sure he doesn't get a full term, by voting for Rebecca White and her team on May the first.

Because the Tasmanian Liberals have no plan for affordable housing, or for public housing.

I grew up in public housing. I know the difference that it makes to people's lives.

The security of a roof over your head isn't just about curing homelessness, it’s about giving people the confidence to be able to hope for a better life, to be able to get an education, to be able to aspire to a better life for your kids.

That's what my single mum wanted for me.

That's the great Labor story.

Creating opportunity, providing funds, to make sure people get that opportunity in life.

Similarly, when it comes to education, what sort of government not only doesn't have a plan for TAFE, but thinks the solution is privatising?

But that's what we're seeing from this Government here.

The truth is that a state like Tasmania has got to have a leader who's prepared to stand up to Canberra, whatever political persuasion.

And yet, in this Government, what we see is just passive acceptance of Canberra’s ignoring of Tasmania.

We see surgery waiting lists blowing out, we see the public sector being hollowed out, and so much infrastructure that Tasmanians need right now simply not delivered.

And if you want a powerful contrast, look no further than this room.

Rebecca White and her Labor team understand that most central of truths. The privilege of forming government carries with it the responsibility to use your time in power to actually make a difference.

Rebecca is a fighter.

She's shown a determination to take on the excesses of conservative governments in the areas where it matters most. In health, in housing, in TAFE.

Rebecca and her team understand how governments can make people's lives better.

That's why you're seeking government.

Not as an end in itself. Not for the title. But to use the power of government to make a difference to the lives of Tasmanians.

Labor also knows that change happens when you work cooperatively with others.

Labor lives and breathes the essence of what has been our mission now for 130 proud years - Imagining a bit of future, and then setting about creating that future.

And that better future includes a vision of a better, stronger Tasmania emerging from the pandemic.

You want to create the conditions to get more Tasmanians into secure, well-paying jobs.

Is it a coincidence that the Tasmanian Liberals are rushing to an early election?

They know about the impact of the abolition of JobKeeper. And they know that the economy will suffer when, on June 30, the free travel across from the north island to the south will end.

I think not.

I think they know exactly what is coming. And Tasmanians shouldn't give them a reward for that.

We want TAFE to operate, providing skills for young people and retraining people as economies change. We want to work with business. We want to build the public sector, not hollow it out.

Labor wants a level playing field for women and to make the work life balance easier for families.

We want to make things better for health workers and for their patients.

It is appalling that older Australians haven't had access to the vaccines. But it's almost criminal that health workers haven't had access to vaccines either.

We want Tasmania to be able to seize Australia's bright, clean and prosperous future as a renewable energy superpower.

Like me, you want to revive manufacturing so that Tasmania can add value to its clean, green produce and increase your exports to the world.

You want to put integrity back at the heart of government by cleaning up donation disclosure laws.

Rebecca White will lead a Labor government that will live up to the proud record of its predecessors.

Like the last Labor government, which invested in the two Spirit of Tasmanias and triggered massive growth in tourism through strategic investments like Freycinet, Three Capes and Cradle Mountain.

A Government that wiped state debt, and worked with the former federal Labor government to rebuild the Royal Hobart Hospital and kickstart Tasmania’s irrigation schemes, which have transformed agriculture across the state.

Tasmanians need a Labor Government.

A government that faces up to reality. Listens to what people are saying. Accepts expert advice.

A government that stands up to Canberra in the interests of Tasmanians.

A government with genuine empathy for the people's concerns. One that backs the aspirations of all Tasmanian families for a better life, not just for themselves, but for their kids, their grandkids and their neighbours.

I say to all Tasmanians: you can count on Rebecca White.

She's a strong leader of courage.

She has heart, she has integrity and she has capacity.

She will be a great Premier with a great team around her. You can count on them to plan ahead and to act in your interests.

Because Labor is on your side. The Liberals are on their own side, looking after their own interests.

Labor will put people first.

Labor is working for Tasmania.

Let's work each and every day for the next two weeks to make sure that Rebecca White is elected the premier of Tasmania.

A premier who will do every Tasmanian proud.