WHEN Treasurer Peter Gutwein takes his feet next Thursday afternoon, we're almost certain to hear a speech that details how the government has made tough decisions and is now consolidating.
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The heavy lifting, he will say, has been done, and now the state is ready to invest in job-creating infrastructure, as per the government's (always capitalised) Plan.
Certainly, the government will have a fair bit of good news to crow about.
Business confidence is significantly higher since they came to office, the overall unemployment figure is lower and private sector development in the South is booming.
But it's not all beer and skittles - the North is still lagging behind in economic terms, and the government has sought to address this through a $60 million infrastructure fund.
And though it looks like the government is winning the argument over public sector job cuts, there are still hundreds more to go, and the full effects will be an issue at the next election.
More importantly, decisions that are beyond the government's control could nonetheless cause political headaches.
A shrinking unemployment figure is not as powerful as the news of hundreds of job losses at Caterpillar in Burnie, or 80 workers at the Cadbury factory.
Much as it would like to, a state government cannot arrest the decades-long decline of manufacturing in Australia, nor does it have the ability to throw good money after bad trying to persuade companies to stay.
That said, Cadbury's decision looks particularly unfortunate, given the federal government had pledged to spend $16 million to secure the company's future in the state.
That money is nowhere to be seen, and Southern voters have reacted the way that most people would when biting into chocolate only to find it's been laced with Vegemite.
As Mr Gutwein and co. well know, jobs are the key metric by which governments live and die, even if there are clear limits on what they can do to change the unemployment figure.
And the more jobs that disappear on the North-West, the more the Liberals' hold of four seats in Braddon looks increasingly tenuous.
The decision to continue to fund the John L. Grove Centre will be welcomed, but only as far as you'd be grateful for your teenage son not burning down your house while you're away.
It's a similar story for the Mersey Hospital, for which a deal is still yet to be secured, creating more anxiety for the North-West with each passing day and potential headaches for Health Minister Michael Ferguson, who has thus far been largely successful in explaining his reforms of the sector.
Surprisingly, Labor has not been able to gain much traction in their criticism of the public sector job cuts, with more effective opposition coming from CPSU secretary Tom Lynch.
Denison MHA Scott Bacon landed a hit on the government with GST projections throwing doubt on the need for such deep cuts, but it seems the public has largely accepted the need for fiscal restraint.
As the budget debate continues and estimates season begins, Labor would be well advised to keep the focus on the effects of the cuts on Tasmanians, rather than headline figures.
