Jeremy Rockliff and Rebecca White's racing rumble

The Advocate's Sean Ford takes Premier Jeremy Rockliff and opposition leader Rebecca White to task over funding for the racing industry.

Transcript

00:00 Rebecca White, Labor is promising a 20 year funding leap for racing. How can you do that

00:05 for a, I suppose, a controversial industry which would appear to have fading support

00:09 levels when organisations that, for instance, provide social services to vulnerable Tasmanians

00:15 don't get anything like that sort of certainty? Why racing?

00:18 We've supported the racing industry and we've probably been the strongest supporters of

00:22 racing for a long time now, particularly here on the North West committing to the $30 million

00:28 that is needed for the new track to support all the codes. We're providing that certainty

00:34 because they've had a pretty bad time of it lately and we think it's important as an industry

00:39 that they understand where we stand in terms of our support for them.

00:43 Jeremy Rockleaf, why should taxpayers fund racing at all?

00:47 Well firstly, the Labor Party sold off Tote, its self-funding mechanism, back in 2009.

00:54 I was in the Parliament and opposed the sale of Tote. The deed was created, it's not due,

01:01 for renewal until 2029, that 20 year deed. And look, racing, I support racing, always

01:08 have connections to racing and it employs many Tasmanians in rural and regional areas

01:16 to so on.

01:17 There are a lot of industries that employ Tasmanians, including in rural and regional

01:21 areas, that don't get huge tax bonus subsidies. Why racing?

01:24 Well, as I say, we opposed the sale of Tote, which was a self-funding mechanism for Tote,

01:29 but as Racing Minister indeed, I ensured that there were other opportunities where they

01:34 could become self-funding in terms of the wagering system, so that it could become more

01:41 self-sufficient, for example, and made some key changes in law as Racing Minister to support

01:46 the opportunity that racing could, if you like, be self-sustaining and fund themselves.

01:52 We will always support and value our racing industry. The deed's not up until 2029. In

01:58 desperation for some reason, the Labor Party came out four years earlier. I'm not sure

02:04 why that is. We also have to be very mindful about where we invest our money as well, and

02:13 invest taxpayers' money, I have to say, in terms of key infrastructure as well in that

02:19 area. The Labor Party have made a commitment to a $30 million infrastructure investment.

02:24 Today, I announced $188 million into schools, particularly Havenview and Burnie Primary

02:32 School for an example, where our key focus at this election will be investing in schools,

02:38 not racing tracks.

02:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]