Government delivering on our long-term Plan in 2016

2016 has been a challenging year for our state, with severe bushfires, harsh drought and catastrophic flooding, and an unprecedented energy crisis. These events have had a massive impact on local communities have shaken our State, but we have endured and come through them together.
While the Government has worked with the community to manage those challenges, we are also getting on with the job of delivering on our long-term Plan.
Our economy today is much better than when we came to government, and last year the economy grew at the fastest rate in six years. Our unemployment rate is down and 2,500 new jobs created since we were elected.
We’ve balanced the budget which means we can afford to invest sustainably in health, education, and better supporting vulnerable Tasmanians.
And we are delivering what we promised – a strong, stable, unified Government for Tasmania with a Plan that’s working.
But we understand for many Tasmanians there’s a lot more we have to do, and that’s why we are focussed on continuing to deliver our Plan.
In Parliament this year we have introduced more than 70 pieces of legislation to help deliver our Plan.
Most notably, our Budget has delivered the first surplus in six years, so we were not only able to deal with the challenges we’ve faced but invest record levels in health and education.
Our major changes to the Education Act reflect our strong commitment to the education of Tasmanian students, and fixing a system that has failed.
We have also introduced a range of new laws as part of our plan to tackle family violence, another key priority in my Government’s agenda.
We have improved laws to make it easier for people to build, supporting Tasmanian businesses and creating more jobs.
We have legalised ride-sharing, for businesses like Uber, to provide consumer choice and create jobs.
We’ve made the Environmental Protection Agency an independent regulator to build confidence in the management of our world-leading salmon industry.
And we have passed legislation to recognise Aboriginal Tasmanians in our Constitution; a long overdue, and very important step on the journey of reconciliation.
While the Government is getting on with the job of delivering on our long-term Plan, it’s clear that Labor and the Greens are still in coalition.
This year in Parliament, Labor and the Greens voted together a staggering 75 per cent of the time, which is an increase from 62.5 percent last year. Labor and the Greens are clearly still joined at the hip, even in Opposition.
There’s no doubt that we have more to do, but our Plan is delivering positive results and my Government remains focussed on getting positive results health, education and supporting vulnerable Tasmanians.
Will Hodgman, Premier