The eight-year-old Liberal Government is continuing to fail on the economic basics as Tasmanians face unprecedented cost of living challenges at the same time household incomes trail the rest of the nation.
It's not surprising that the Rockliff-Ferguson Government brag about CommSec and its cherry picking from the latest quarterly Deloitte Access Economics Business Outlook report fails to acknowledge a dire state of affairs for Tasmanian families under the tired and out-of-ideas Liberals.
CommSec looks at relative performance of eight indicators compared to each state's "normal."
ABS and Deloitte give a truer picture of the eight indicators – economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work done, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements - which are all flat or declining.
Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data highlight that last quarter Tasmania's economy went backwards when every other state grew, our population declined two quarters in a row and Tasmania's unemployment rate jumped to the highest of any state. But you won't hear that from the Liberals.
The Deloitte report shows price pressures are "mounting fast" and rising living costs are placing significant pressure on our state's ability to attract workers. Equipment investment has also peaked and building approvals have cooled.
Additionally, Tasmania has the lowest employment-to-population ratio of any state by a country mile and both income per person and employment growth are expected to remain well below the national average.
Worryingly, Deloitte backs up the population decline highlighted by the ABS in finding that Tasmanians have been leaving the state in droves, unable to find well-paying jobs to meet the demands of a growing housing crisis.
The forecasts by Deloitte show population growth is well below budget forecasts and the government has not addressed years of falling housing investment, falling business equipment investment and stagnating industrial production from 2023-24.
The mounting economic headwinds need to be managed, but instead the Rockliff-Ferguson Government continues to impose reckless cost of living burdens on families including new energy charges, a proposed new slug on water and sewerage every year for the next four years amounting to almost $400 extra for every home and a new bin tax which will see council rates increase.
It all adds up to a serious cost of living crisis caused by a Premier and a government who have lost their grip on the basics of economic management.
Shane Broad MP
Shadow Treasurer
