Since Premier Rockliff lost control of the Parliament and took his government into minority, more than 6,600 full-time Tasmanian jobs have been lost, more than were lost during COVID.

The Government’s own Revised Estimates Report shows that Tasmania’s labour market is set to weaken even further, with further job losses forecast only a fortnight ago.

The latest labour force data from the ABS reaffirms the fact that Premier Rockliff’s Liberal minority government is bad for jobs, and bad for the economy.

Tasmania continues to have the weakest participation rate in the nation, six and a half percentage points below the national average. Underemployment also remains the worst the country, a full percentage point higher than the next worse in South Australia. Our weak participation and high underemployment are the true reflection of the structural issues facing Tasmania’s economy.

Despite Saul Eslake, Deloitte Access Economics, the TCCI and CommSec all coming to the same conclusion about Tasmania’s participation problem and structural economic handbrakes, the Liberal minority government have failed to even acknowledge the issue, let alone address it.

Instead of prioritising real job creation, the Premier and this hopeless Liberal government have allowed our deep-rooted participation problems to persist, undermining the future of the state. It’s blatantly obvious Tasmania needs to address the struggling participation rate and get our economy back on track.

If Tasmania’s participation rate was at the national average, over 11,000 jobs would be created, households would be $1,500 better off and the State’s economy would be boosted by over $3.7 billion annually.

Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer