While the start of the school year should be a time for optimism, it is instead causing stress for many families struggling to deal with the cost of living under a Rockliff Liberal Government.
Courtney Quinn-McCabe is a parent to two children, one who is starting Grade 2 this year, with the other in childcare.
She works full time, has a mortgage, and like many Tasmanians, is noticing the impact of soaring power bills and increased costs of essentials such as food and petrol on her family's budget.
For Tasmanians like Courtney, back-to-school costs are ratcheting up financial tension in this cost of living crisis.
Figures show that on average Australian families will spend $571 per primary school children and $771 per secondary student on back to school supplies such as books, stationary and uniform.
That's before costs of tuition fees, technology, camps, excursions and sporting equipment are even taken into account.
Tasmanian workers are the poorest paid in the country. With the cost of everything going up, many are close to breaking point.
Still, the Liberals provide no relief. Jeremy Rockliff must do more to help families doing it tough so it doesn't negatively affect one of the most important things in life - a child's education.
A Labor Government would be serious about removing the barriers to education and getting better results for our students to help set them up for the future.
Tasmanian Labor has a policy of capping power price increases at 2.5 per cent each year for the next three years which would help ease cost-of-living pressures on households so Tasmanians can do things like send their kids to school with all the supplies they need.
This should be the real priority for a government that cares about Tasmanians, not spending over $460 million dollars on a stadium that we don't need, and can't afford.
Josh Willie MLC
Shadow Minister for Education & Early Years
