THERE are only 3000 more full-time jobs in Tasmania today than there were 35 years ago — reflecting a generation of lost opportunities for the state.
The concerted efforts of successive state governments under nine premiers since Doug Lowe amount to a meagre 2 per cent lift in full-time employment, during a period when the rest of the nation enjoyed jobs growth of 60 per cent.
The most recent data shows jobs are disappearing in forestry, manufacturing and building and construction while health care, education, accommodation and food services, and public administration and safety, are all on the rise.
As Tasmania’s jobs crisis deepens, one of the nation’s top economists says it is time for state government to concentrate on the basics and create an environment for the private sector to become the engine room for growth.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch chief economist Saul Eslake has been watching Tasmania’s roller-coaster economy for more than 25 years.
“The industries that have been successful in Tasmania are the five Ws: wine, wool, wasabi, Walshie and walking,” Mr Eslake said.
“Walshie” is millionaire entrepreneur and MONA founder David Walsh, while wasabi stands as an example of niche crops such as cherries, truffles, turnips and wasabi, grown and exported to the northern hemisphere in their off-season.
Each is an example of what Tasmania does best — high value, specialised and differentiated products.
Woodchips don’t make the list. The heavily subsidised forestry industry has failed to deliver prosperity, and manufacturing has declined as companies seek cheaper labour overseas.
David Killick’s full report here
• BBC Newsnight’s Jeremy Paxman talks to comedian/actor Russell Brand about voting, revolution … There is going to be a revolution. People are tired of being complicit in political and corporate elites … Why pretend … why be complicit in this ridiculous illusion …Then it’s this one that gets in then it’s that one that gets in … and nothing changes … Watch here
• SMH: Tony Abbott’s ALP criticism could affect US links
• PUP’s new Senate Deputy Leader Jacquie Lambie warns Will
• ABC: Rebel MP Brenton Best’s campaign to oust Premier exposes party divisions
• AFL Tas: ‘A few former officials taking an easy opportunity to say whatever they want …’
AFL Tasmania has rejected criticism it is wasting public money by focussing on elite level football.
State Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee is investigating how AFL Tasmania spends its annual allocation.
Last week, former Launceston Football Club director Phil Thurlow told the inquiry the body was incompetent.
He claimed AFL Tasmania’s board members made important financial decisions over cups of coffee, and were neglecting community football.
AFL Tasmania will appear before the inquiry soon, but is already defending its record.
In a statement, its Chairman Dominic Baker has dismissed the criticism as “a few former officials taking an easy opportunity to say whatever they want”, and claimed the inquiry had been politicised.
Mr Baker says AFL Tasmania has spent at least $500,000 on community football this year.
john hayward
October 27, 2013 at 11:30
Only hours after the PM unveiled himself in the Washington Post as the dinkum Crocodile Abbott in denouncing his “wacko” predecessors, Will announces himself as the incredible Tassie hulk, preparing to liberate Tas entrepreneurs from the yoke of regulation.
“This will be a brutal campaign” he promises, seemingly reassuring us that it will be “harsh, remorseless, callous, heartless, bestial,” and all the other connotations of the word. The presence of Sam McQuestin underlined the point.
With the Abetz hand operating the strings, we can be confident that Will’s revolution won’t have any truck with anything clever, kind, or ethically squeamish.
John Hayward
Simon Warriner
October 27, 2013 at 13:27
The mercury could do with engaging in a little introspection about the role that its failure, as a mechanism for the propagation of the truth, has had in the failure of Tasmania to thrive.
Lies, corruption and deceit do not make for a workplace any sane person would want to work in. The Mockery has had plenty of opportunity to email me ask what my post were about.
The Old Bear
October 27, 2013 at 15:59
Blundering Uncle Sam
The behaviour of US politicians and their agencies is infuriating many Other Worlders. Uncle Sam has a lot to answer for. And in the light of what has been happening, I offer the following, from Richard North Patterson’s novel Exile. The major characters are David Wolfe (a successful Jewish lawyer being set to run for Congress) and a Palestinian girl, Hana Arif. They had an affair when he was at Harvard law school, and on her first visit to his Harvard apartment she comments:
“Sometimes America is like a large puppy, all big paws and floppy tail, that runs through the living room breaking the glassware and knocking things off tables, too happy discovering all it can do to care about the damage. Except that your living room is the world.â€
Ankelbita
October 27, 2013 at 17:57
The headline of only 3000 jobs growth in 35 years is a bit of a joke – as it takes no account of the structural transition going on in Tasmania. 35 years ago there were thousands of jobs at EZ, Bell Bay and other manufacturing businesses.
Globalisation and technological enhancements have made many of those jobs redundant.
What the headlines refuse to show is where the jobs have been lost and gained – that will give you an idea of the transition.
Isla MacGregor
October 27, 2013 at 18:47
Fully concur.
Kay Seltitzas
October 27, 2013 at 20:36
Then that would make us the as yet untoilet trained bitza’s ……..ineffective in all but allowing this brutal, open corruption in this State to continue in all areas.
Kay Seltitzas
Mike Adams
October 27, 2013 at 21:30
And that time ago Australian industry could be competitive. Now it needs subsidising to stave off unemployment – and even then it’s not enough.
To read the kind of parochial Letters to the Editor in the Examiner, who are no doubt selected for publication because of their determinedly anti Green opinions, shows that understanding the big wide world out there is beyond them
Shaun
October 27, 2013 at 23:10
#4 I think the point is that the same applies practically everywhere. At least it does in all the Australian states.
But whereas the others have actually made a transition Tasmania has been a relative failure.
Take a look around Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth…. There’s an abundance of things that were significant employers a generation ago but are now sitting disused or have been bulldozed completely.
What is unique to Tasmania is that we:
1. Artificially accelerated the decline of some industries. Paper manufacturing (as distinct from exporting woodchips) is perhaps the single largest example in Tasmania.
2. Failed to foster the growth on a sufficient scale of new businesses to replace the old.
3. Passed up some opportunities altogether, choosing to “pick winners” rather than simply going with whatever was actually workable. Some of those businesses are operating right now elsewhere in Australia.
Without those issues, we would not have the troubles we have today.
Perhaps the biggest alarm bell right now is that retirees are starting to do what youth have traditionally done and leave the state. They are coming to the realisation that their adult children won’t be coming back so the oldies are starting to think the same way. Live in Tas by themselves or move to Qld, NSW, Vic or wherever to be near the grandkids and the rest of the family? It’s not a difficult choice when *all* their family has already left and it seems to be becoming more common.
Tasmania desperately needs to stop “picking winners” and get on with the job of making things happen. Some will succeed, some will fail – that’s the very basis of how business works.
The way we tend to think here in Tassie, we’d have rejected Microsoft, Apple and MP3’s as having all sorts of problems whilst handing out subsidies trying to keep a cassette factory in business. The rest of the country just lets the market decide then adapts accordingly – that’s what we need to do.
Gordon Bradbury
October 28, 2013 at 10:20
“The rest of the country just lets the market decide then adapts accordingly – that’s what we need to do.”
Couldn’t agree more Shaun. Well, except for the car industry, and etc., etc..
Our Tasmanian feudal/socialist economy just doesn’t work.
Steve
October 28, 2013 at 16:02
An interesting example of picking your figures to make a point. Employment figures go up and down. Comparing peaks with troughs is not really a valid argument.
That said, I’d like to see Tasmanian employment figures corrected for the portion of the population that are unemployable. Every State has them but I suspect Tasmania has a much higher percentage. It’s a logical outcome of generational unemployment where all the kids not interested in working remain in the State.
A.K.
October 29, 2013 at 12:07
The majority of threads on TT currently and particularly this one, all have a number of things in common. The direction we are going, the leadership we are controlled by and the growing dysfunction of our political, social, bureaucratic, health, education, transport and economy, all prove we are going in the wrong direction under the wrong hands. We are led by ideologies who are dysfunctional within themselves, can’t stand up to real scrutinisation in any way, nor provide a viable safe future for Tas.
I wouldn’t be taking bets on how long it will before the people actually do something to save the future, before it is done to them by nature, overseas control or invasion. Invasion of Aus and even Tas is not out of the question within the next 5 years, already the influx of ideological invaders is not being stemmed. It won’t be long before it becomes a torrent, as world societies collapse under cultural, environmental and economic pressure. The one place they will all want to come to is Aus, next will be Tas, as we still have the ability to grow foods and are lightly populated.
The ideological war of attrition grows day by day, already fear loathing and suspicion is growing between all western allies as the spying on each other is unfolded. Surely all the signs are clear, major disaster is starring us in the face from all angles and all our leaders do is squabble and continue blindly on their crazy ideological paths to destruction.
Unless the people of Tas throw all these political parties out and introduce referendum style governments, our future is completely lost. There is not one 21st century industry or business being introduced to Tas, or Aus, just more of the same, propping up vested interests, dying, polluting, destructive industries.
The people have all the answers, just ask them. Politicians, academics, have no answers just listen to or ask them. Other than pay them more if we want better outcomes, trouble is, the outcomes from these academically trained fools gets worse and worse every day
Robin Halton
October 29, 2013 at 13:38
#11 Robert le Page, I agree.
March 2014 will be a harsh reality check for Labor and the Greens.
I would expect that Liberals under Will Hodgman will not be free from PUP who will push candidates foward to challenge the Tasmanian establishment.
Hodgman does show some leadership weakness which could be counteracted by PUP even if it means the Liberals forming government with PUP.
Considering the ambitions of PUP and the Liberals are better aligned than is currently the case between Labor and the Greens, that may not be too bad a move!
Somewhere within the broad spectra of local, State and Federal Governments, a need to consider the future of the national interest versus uncontrolled globalisation as there must be political will shown to slow down the sale of Australian land for Asian interests.
Leasing of land for cattle raising and food production would be a better move.
Perhaps the Greens and the Independents could exercise greater power as role models influencing the limiting future foreign ownership.
It is only a matter of time national security issues will erupt. I am also well aware that Barnaby Joyce leader of the Nationals within the Coalition, privately with many of his supporters does not see eye to eye with PM Abbott’s ambition to increase foreign ownership of agricultural land.
Under PM Abbott easing up of laws relating refugees, gay marriage, tree hugging and carbon sequestion talk are examples that will be of less relevance than creating new business opportunities capitialising on resources.
The temptation for Foreign land ownership deals will need watching closely.
Australia is shaping up in a far different way than were used to under Labor, never the less there is still a need for fair and reasonable questioning of future policy direction.