Premier Wayne Panton and his government have been unable to deliver what they promised over the past two years, Roy McTaggart told Parliament on Wednesday, 26 April.
In his response to the administration’s presentation of its Strategic Policy Statement, the Opposition leader said there was very little he could say on it.
He said he and his colleagues had only seen the document at the start of proceedings, but had listened “keenly” during its presentation and closely followed the new promises made.
“In some respects, I had a déjà vu moment,” he said, adding that he was sure the premier had made many of these same promises two years ago – “yet, few of them got done”.
The MP said the key question is, “Has the premier at last found a way to achieve where he has so far been unable to over the past two years?”
He said the premier seemed optimistic and hopeful, and urged him to “nourish” that, but not overlook past failures in delivering on many of the 230 promises in the last SPS.
Some of those included the National Development Plan, ReGen Project, keeping control of inflation and improving the traffic problem, McTaggart said during his speech.
Government support
The Opposition leader said he worried the statement is not representative of the entire government.
“If this government has not bought into the Premier’s SPS, and if he cannot lead a united team to deliver on the promises of the SPS, then this is a policy statement based on wishful thinking rather than a coherent strategy,” he said.
He described several moments of internal division including over the East-West Arterial extension and the resignation of Chris Saunders.
While he congratulated the government on some major milestones, he said many of those were the product of the Progressives’ government initiatives and leadership.
Among those projects were the new John Gray High School campus, the Health Services Authority delivery, Climate Change Risk Assessment and the residential mental health facility, he said.
“In most walks of life, we recognise that unless something fundamental changes the best predictor of future performance is what is the past,” the MP concluded.
He said he hopes the premier and his government are able to transform the SPS policies into a “very coherent and purpose driven” budget.
McTaggart said he hopes his will allow the government to deliver on the projects, commitments and on their policies, adding, “The challenges that face the country are far too big.”
Premier Wayne Panton outlined his 2022-2024 Strategic Policy Statement in Parliament in July 2021.
His focus then was on feeding school children, reforming work-permit fees and pushing the COVID-19 vaccination drive.
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