The Liberal Government is committed to growing jobs and rebuilding our key industries such as forestry.
We are backing forest workers and the industry rather than relying on disastrous Labor initiatives like the Sirolli Program, which failed to help timber communities.
We ceased funding this reckless program immediately after coming to power because it did not deliver value for money.
Labor and the Greens committed $950,000 for this initiative, $360,000 of which was provided directly to the Sirolli Institute in fees.
The three communities this program was supposed to help – Circular Head, the Huon Valley and Dorset/George Town – received just $188,000 each.
For this almost $1 million price tag, just 44.5 jobs were created in 19 months.
That’s less than one job, per region, per month at cost of more than $21,000 for each job.
That said, there is no evidence of a direct link between the Sirolli Program and jobs created in these regions. In fact, a survey of Sirolli Program clients found 61.3 per cent of users accessed other forms of advice.
The Liberal Government is committed to tackling the jobs crisis and driving investment to grow the economy.
Under this Government we have already seen early signs of confidence returning with building approvals at their highest levels in almost three years.
The latest retail trade figures also show retail trade in Tasmania was $462.6 million in April 2014, 9.4 per cent higher than the same time 12 months earlier.
The Liberal Government has a long-term plan for the future of Tasmania and we will support jobs and growth, rather than using scarce funding to support indulgent programs.
Matthew Groom, Minister for State Growth
