Andrew Wilkie: Jobless rate a damning indictment of Labor-Greens

The news today that the Tasmanian jobless rate has jumped to 21,000, or 8.4 per cent of the work force, is a damming indictment of the Labor-Greens State Government.

Every one of the 300 new jobless is a real person and often one supporting a family. Their plight is a very human story and not just a statistic.

At this time when the Labor Party is making such a fuss about being the party to create jobs, the reality is that the Tasmanian Labor Party has helped create a genuine jobs crisis in the State.

I again call on the State Government to stop all the vacuous talk and promises about jobs and instead work to put in place the drivers of genuine economic growth.

For a start the State Government should work with the Federal Government to bring down the cost of getting people, vehicles and freight in and out of Tasmania, for instance by enhancing the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme. This would be simple and affordable, and just the sort of reform to start turning the State’s economy around.
Andrew Wilkie MP, Independent Member for Denison