Today’s unemployment data shows that since September last year 6,900 jobs have disappeared from the Tasmanian economy and while trend unemployment remains steady, seasonally adjusted our unemployment rate has jumped nearly half a percent to 5.5%.
What we are seeing is that the problems that have historically stopped people from getting jobs still exist today. It highlights the need for policies that will drive our economy forward and back local business to create local jobs – policies a Hodgman Liberal Government will implement.
We have a skills crisis, an uncompetitive tax system and mountains of red tape holding business back. We have a needlessly complex planning system, crumbling infrastructure and an education system that after years of experimentation is going backwards.
We need a government that is going to get on with the job of backing local businesses to create local jobs by making Tasmania the most competitive place to do business, lowering tax, streamlining planning, lifting skills and fixing infrastructure bottlenecks.
This Government seems to think that mediocrity is good enough. It’s not and Tasmanians deserve better.
Peter Gutwein MP Shadow Treasurer
