Tasmania is once again leading the nation on economic performance according to CommSec's July State of the State Report, despite national economic headwinds.
Premier, Jeremy Rockliff, said the report showed Tasmania has now impressively been ranked first overall for 12 of the previous 14 quarterly reports and has improved on all eight performance indicators in the report since we came to government in 2014.
"This is fantastic news for our State and once again confirms that because of our long term plan our economy is strong and robust, to the benefit of all Tasmanians," the Premier said.
"Tasmania continues to lead the nation on dwelling commencements as well as on equipment investment, up 23.9 per cent on the decade average, ahead of NSW (up 13.5 per cent).
"We also have the equal highest wage growth in the nation, as well as the second highest performance on unemployment and housing finance.
"In fact, just days ago, Tasmania again recorded a record low unemployment of just 3.8 per cent according to the ABS.
"After nine years of Liberal Government our economy is leading the pack and more Tasmanains have work than ever before. But, Tasmania is not immune from the global and national economic headwinds. That's why the changes I've announced over the past week are so important, because businesses need confidence, Tasmanians need certainty, and that's what I will deliver."
Treasurer, Michael Ferguson, said that building and protecting a strong economy in difficult headwinds was the aim of the Liberal Government, working in partnership with Tasmanian businesses.
"I'm so grateful for what our partnership with business and our policies have produced. It's not been easy, with our key policies (such as reversing Labor's disastrous forest deal with the Greens, building infrastructure, reforming TasTafe and cracking down on crime) consistently opposed by the Labor Party, Mr Ferguson said.
"Labor will try again attempt to cherry pick and play politics, but the reality is that according to CommSec, Tasmania's economic performance continues to lead the nation, and Tasmanians are better off on every metric under the Tasmanian Liberal Government.
"Under Labor, Tasmania was dead last.
"We will never lose sight of the fact that these numbers represent the livelihoods of real Tasmanians. Each new job created is another person contributing to our economy, but more importantly, providing for their family.
"Having a strong economy allows us to invest more into the things that matter most to Tasmanians - health, education, housing and community infrastructure.
"We have proven that our long-term plan is working and we assure Tasmanians that we will not rest on our laurels. We will continue to do all we can to maintain, and indeed, accelerate this momentum."
