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Time to focus on long term

OLUMNIST Greg Barns yesterday issued a plea to the Hodgman Government: to produce a state budget this year that is “genuinely reformist” and focused on the economic reforms necessary to position Tasmania for a bright future.

The Mercury endorses this view. As we said in this column on January 1, this Government has a unique opportunity this year to deliver a budget that offers a significant investment in our future — through reforms or the funding of step-change service delivery or significant new infrastructure projects, or all of them.

Times are so good that it would be a serious shame if Tasmanians in the future were not able to look back on this purple patch in our state’s history and point to concrete examples of how we took full advantage of it. And so the Government should be looking to deliver on initiatives that will deliver a long-term dividend in terms of making the lives of Tasmanians in the future better — whether that’s in five, 10 or even 50 years.

A state budget that is in surplus is fine, but targeted investment in state-building is far more meaningful in the long term — and that would be the sort of budget that we would (editorially) cheer. That is because, as we have said almost innumerable times in this column during the past year, it is time for the Government to look beyond the horizon, to vision, to plan — and then to invest.

The good news for the Hodgman Government is that this is the year it can comfortably take some risks politically. Not only is it the safe second year in the four-year electoral cycle, but an overwhelming majority of Tasmanians say they are feeling optimistic about the state’s future. These are ideal conditions for

The good news for the Hodgman Government is that this is the year it can comfortably take some risks politically

any politician looking to build a genuine legacy from their time in public life to get out of their comfort zone.

And these reforms do not even necessarily need to cost much money. Investing in new game-changing infrastructure, plotting a genuine fix for our health services, and developing a plan to ensure that as a state we can fund our currently unfunded — and massive — public superannuation liability are all important. But just as critical an issue for Tasmania is a properly considered response to the demographic time bombs coming our way.

We remain the poorest state in Australia — driven largely by the rising proportion of pension-dependent retirees aged over 65. That demographic fact also means our net natural population growth rate is set to soon begin to decline. And an older demographic means more pressure on the health system and health costs eating up more and more of the state budget. We meanwhile also have an enduring problem with longterm unemployment, and our literacy rates remain stubbornly challenged. Any leader worth his or her salt would surely be focused on making sure these challenges are being addressed while times are good and the economy is strong.

These issues are so important, too, that perhaps we also need our politicians to put their differences aside for a moment and agree on a bipartisan master plan for Tasmania. That having been developed, we then need a genuine commitment from business and government to work together on it. Wouldn’t that be nice.