Our budget to build bright future

TWill Hodgman

ASMANIA is now heading in the right direction, with our unemployment rate at 5.8 per cent, hospital waiting lists at record lows, more students staying in school longer and getting better results, and the State Budget back in balance.

Getting the budget back on track and turning our economy around has not been easy, and it certainly has not happened by accident.

On coming to Government, our focus was to fix the budget by making tough decisions and living within our means, and to kickstart the economy by backing business, encouraging investment and cutting red tape.

The result is we have been able to invest the dividends of those gains into essential services Tasmanians need, like health, education and safety.

There is still a long way to go, as not all Tasmanians are feeling the benefits of the stronger economy, or our increased investment in health services. That is why this year’s budget is all about building a better future for all Tasmanians.

It contains the biggest ever funding boost to health, which will deliver 106 more hospital beds, right around the state, and provide better healthcare for all Tasmanians.

In education, we are investing more — including funding the “full Gonski” — and we are upgrading our schools and employing more school staff to help our kids get a better education.

We are delivering a “Jobs for Young Tasmanians” package that will support about 7600 young Tasmanians into work by providing incentives to large and small businesses to employ more apprentices and trainees.

And we are providing more ways, like the “jobs bus”, to help get young people to work.

We understand that costof-living pressures are real.

That is why in this budget we are taking action to cap electricity prices, which will save the average household around $300 on their power bill in the coming 12 months.

By taking control of TasWater, we will deliver lower prices to customers, saving the average household up to $550.

We are also making it more affordable to build your first home, with a New Housing Incentive Package, which includes the First Home Builders’ Boost, and reducing stamp duty on house and land packages.

As our economy grows, our roads are getting busier and we need to invest more to ensure safe and efficient travel.

We are delivering the next stage of upgrades to the Midland Highway, including the Perth Link Road, and there will be important safety improvements like at the Mowbray Connector in Launceston.

In Hobart, there are additional funds to tackle the growing congestion problem.

THIS Government is committed to keeping Tasmanians safe. This year we will again be employing more police officers, and we will be providing them with the latest gear, such as body-worn cameras, to help them protect you.

We are also supporting Tasmanians in need with more funds for child protection, and for Neighbourhood Houses and food vans so that these important organisations can continue to provide support to those who need it.

By growing the economy and getting the budget back in balance we are able to invest more into building our future right across the state. For example, we are building a new hospital in St Helens; there is $35 million to upgrade the Mersey Hospital at Latrobe; we have committed $9.5 million to bring forward the restart of the Mount Lyell Mine at Queenstown, creating more jobs on the West Coast; and we are providing funds to revitalise Launceston with the University of Tasmania and City Heart projects.

We are also investing more into improving our national parks, and again providing more funds to maintain the boom in tourism, which supports local businesses and jobs right across the state.

We will support our farmers, including with an increased investment in biosecurity protections to keep pests and diseases out of our state.

These are just some of the features of the State Budget, which this year delivers a small surplus, and for the first time in a decade we will be in surplus for each of the next four years, and we will continue to have no net debt.

We are absolutely committed to keeping the budget in balance because it means we can invest more in essential services, and build Tasmania’s future. Will Hodgman is the Premier of Tasmania.