Today in Question Time the Prime Minister was unable to answer basic questions about a City Deal for Hobart, despite saying eight months ago that he was ‘very open, in fact enthusiastic, about talking about it’.
To add insult to injury the Prime Minister, floundering through his response, spoke only about the Launceston City Deal.
The last time I looked at a map, Launceston and Hobart were two different cities, in two very different regions of Tasmania.
The fact is that in the eight months since the Prime Minister first talked about a City Deal for Hobart, the Mayor of Hobart City Council has heard nothing further.
This proves this is a Prime Minister who cannot match rhetoric with reality.
Since taking office the Turnbull Government has not commenced a single new project in Tasmania. Instead it has sought to mask its inaction with vague promises about City Deals.
The Turnbull Government has also ignored light rail for Hobart, a project which the former Federal Labor Government sought to progress back in 2013 by allocating money to advance the project’s business case.
Hobart does not need more talk from the Prime Minister. It needs actual investment.