Tasmania’s Premier, Lara Giddings, has told a national audience Tasmania is not the “Greece of Australia” and says her government is “quietly transforming” the state’s struggling economy.
The Premier says much of the criticism of the state’s economic situation is politically motivated.
“You’ve all heard the claims – Tasmania is backward, a mendicant state, the Greece of Australia, closed for business and, invariably, our political opponents blame minority government,” she said.
“Today I want to tell you about what’s really going on – and about the changes that are happening in the island state.”
Ms Giddings says Tasmania is ready to capitalise on the ‘Asian Century’, thanks to the roll-out of the national broadband network, a new $400 million irrigation scheme and renewable energy expertise.
She reflected that just four years ago, the state had the country’s lowest unemployment rate and was named Australia’s best performing state.
“Our small size is both a blessing and a curse, making us more vulnerable in the bad times but also quicker to bounce back when the good times return,” she said.
“The factors holding back the Tasmanian economy are transient and will pass.”
The Premier has taken to task federal politicians for using the island state as a “whipping boy”.
Ms Giddings says Tasmania is seen by federal politicians as a soft target for strategies to win votes of environmentally-conscious voters in the inner city suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney.
“While we are accused of ‘locking up’ potential sources of economic activity, it should be remembered that most of the major conservation decisions in recent history have been made in the context of Federal election campaigns,” she said.
The Premier says Tasmania is a tolerant and progressive community.
Source: ABC.