Get back to basics on economy

The pandemic’s hit to Tasmanian tourism highlights the importance of boosting the state’s traditional strengths, writes Michael Bailey

FOR many of us, 2020 was the year that we only thought existed in an alternative science fiction universe – a worldwide virus plague resulting in millions of deaths, international travel banned, businesses ordered to close by the government, and citizens essentially locked into their own homes for months on end.

COVID- 19 taught us new and difficult lessons about our lives, about what we used to take for granted, and what is truly important.

It also showed up and laid bare previously papered- over shortcomings in our existing systems — be they health, manufacturing and supply chain logistics, or indeed entire economies.

In Tasmania, while we’ve been mercifully immune to date to the worst health aspects of the pandemic due to the strong and decisive action of our government, our economy has nonetheless taken a real hit.

In particular, our visitor economy, which previously accounted for about 17 per cent of total jobs in Tasmania, has been smashed by the border closures.

Not only primary tourism businesses, but also those closely related such as the hospitality sector, restaurants and cafes have all been hit very hard.

Unfortunately even now while our borders are open to most places except for Sydney, the recent snap closure of state borders in response to the Sydney outbreak has really sapped the confidence of people thinking about interstate holidays. ( Although I would like to congratulate the Tasmanian government for its decision to hold its nerve and only close our state to designated hot spots).

What all of this has done in Tasmania is to reinforce just how important our traditional economic strengths — agriculture, forestry, fishing and aquaculture, mining and mineral processing, and renewable energy — are to our state’s success.

Combined. these sectors account for 10 per cent of all jobs in the state, nearly all of the $ 3.5 billion in exports for the 12 months ending October and truly are the engine room that powers our economy and supports a large part of our business sector.

It’s no exaggeration to say that without our traditional economic strengths, most of which operated unaffected or only affected in a very small way during the worst of last year’s lockdowns, our economy would indeed be in a most parlous situation today.

As our state looks to economic recovery from the COVID pandemic, we should be looking to leverage and support these sectors — the things we know and have always done well — to expand and grow.

To its credit, the state government has gone some way to doing this, with its laudable commitment to the new Marinus Link to turbocharge renewable energy development in Tasmania, as well as the announcement last year about the review of the salmon industry growth plan.

However, it is unfortunate that some political parties, groups and individuals continue to try to pull these sectors down.

Over recent months forestry, aquaculture, mining and renewable energy have all been targets of these groups, despite their world- leading environmental practices and contribution to employment and economic activity in Tasmania.

For example, despite Tasmania’s forest industry being the ultimate renewable with every tree harvested being replaced by another, the Bob Brown Foundation is invading our forest workplaces again, and legal action is being taken in the Federal Court to try to overturn the Regional Forests Agreement, which has been repeatedly endorsed by Tasmanians at the ballot box.

The state government has signalled it will be bringing its workplace protection legislation on for debate in the Legislative Council when Parliament resumes in March, and I encourage the Labor Party to sit down with the government and find a workable compromise, so that this legislation can be passed into law.

We all remember when the Greens told us that wind energy was the answer to “no dams” and that tourism was the answer to “no forestry”, now we are told on an almost daily basis that these economic activities are now also off limits.

We have already had our tourism industry and visitor economy smashed apart by COVID- 19.

If we can’t have forestry, or mining, or aquaculture, or renewable energy — what will we have left?

The world might be changing in a political and social sense, but that the basics about Tasmania have not.

We are still one of the best places in the world to grow pasture, crops and trees. Our West Coast is still highly mineralised. And we are still ideally positioned with our hydro and untapped wind resources.

It’s time for all major parties and groups to come together and support our island to recover and grow.

OUR VISITOR ECONOMY, WHICH ACCOUNTED FOR 17 PER CENT OF JOBS, HAS BEEN SMASHED BY BORDER CLOSURES. IT REINFORCES HOW IMPORTANT AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, FISHING AND AQUACULTURE, MINING AND RENEWABLE ENERGY ARE TO OUR STATE’S SUCCESS