State growth vital to survival: Groom

TASMANIA needs to boost its population to ensure the state does not fall into a “death spiral”, State Growth Minister Matthew Grooms says.

The State Government wants to grow the population to 650,000 residents by 2050.

But government figures and projections show growth needs to double to reach the bold target.

Mr Groom has told a Budget Estimates Committee yesterday the need to grow the state’s population was integral for its long-term viability.

He said forecasts show the state’s population could decline in the next few decades.

“We have a population problem,” he said.

“The experts agree … that if our population goes into decline then that creates what they refer to as the ‘death spiral’ circumstance’ where the capacity of the population to support essential services becomes so compromised that it causes people to leave.

“We must recognise this as a problem.

“The 650,000 figure — there is no great magic to that figure — it is designed to emphasise to pursue growth.

“It was identified as an achievable figure but there is lots of things that we have got to do to tackle it.”

Mr Groom said the expat community and skilled migrants were key tools to the solution.

The Minister has also told the committee: CSIRO and the Department of State Growth are working on developing microchips that would help to protect Tasmanian products from copyright infringement. TRADE missions to China will become more common place under his government. NYRSTAR have sought “financial assistance” from the State Government. INTERVIEWS for the state’s regulation reduction co-ordinator were held last Friday and the successful applicant is expected to be announced shortly.