Supporting tourism and hospitality until the new Spirits arrive

Tourism and hospitality businesses have been let down by the failures with the new Spirits.

They were told to invest to prepare for the new ships, which have now been delayed by five years. Labor believes we should increase day sailings in the meantime, to get more tourists here and make up for the lost capacity.

We also want a seat on the TT-Line board set aside for a tourism industry representative, to ensure the industry’s needs are given greater priority in the future.

Opening up Tasmania’s night time economy

A thriving, modern economy can’t afford to shut down at 5 p.m. Some of our most creative entrepreneurs, most passionate workers and most exciting businesses operate around the clock. Our retail and hospitality sectors have done it tough in recent years, and a vibrant night time economy is exactly what they need to recover and thrive. Labor will develop a night time economy strategy centred on:

• Reducing red tape and regulation for late-night venues, outdoor dining and events
• Supporting live music
• Protecting existing venues from noise complaints
• Supporting night time workers with a plan for better public transport, childcare and safety

Getting our government businesses back on track

Labor understands how important our government businesses are for Tasmania’s economy and jobs. But whether it’s Hydro, the Spirits or TasPorts, there have been too many examples recently where they’ve let us down. Labor will establish a new Government Business Constitution to make sure they always act in Tasmania’s long term economic interests.

We’ll bring in people with new ideas and skills by introducing term limits and ensuring people do not sit on more than one board at a time. And we’ll make sure our government businesses have proper oversight, by requiring there to always be two ministers with shareholder responsibilities.

Labor's plan will start the work of getting our government businesses back on track, and delivering once again for Tasmanian jobs and the economy.

Getting the finances under control

Poor financial management is bad for business confidence - and that’s exactly what’s happening under this minority Liberal government. Labor recognises that fixing their mess will take a long time and hard work, but we’re up for the job. We’ve developed a ten point plan as a starting point, with a focus on reducing wasteful spending, ending pork barrelling and rorts, increasing budget transparency and merging the IT infrastructure of government departments. 

Labor has a plan for Tasmania.