The state government has deflected opposition party claims that Tasmania is amid a jobs crisis, using Question Time on Tuesday to sell its job creation initiatives and attack the previous government’s economic record.
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The Greens and Labor accused the government of not taking the loss of 5200 Tasmanian jobs in 10 months seriously, adding that the situation contradicted the government’s goal to create 8000 jobs in 2015-16.
Opposition Leader Bryan Green said the state’s participation rate was down to 59.3 per cent – the worst in a decade.
“As opposed to creating jobs, you are actually haemorrhaging them,” he said.
“When will you face up to the fact that there is a job crisis in the state?”
Mr Hodgman said labelled the Opposition “hysterical” on the state’s employment situation and compared the unemployment rate this year to the rate under the previous government.
“When it was 8.6 per cent under Labor and the Greens, they say it was disappointing,” he said.
“Now, when under a majority Liberal Government it is 6.4 per cent, 2.2 per cent lower than it was under you, you say it is a crisis.
“The number of unemployed Tasmanians was 20,400 under Labor and the Greens.
“Under a majority Liberal government, it is 25 per cent lower at 16,000.”
The government took four questions over the morning from its own side, each asking it to boast about employment opportunities from forestry industrial renewal, infrastructure projects, planning reform, and trade missions, including an upcoming trip that would visit Indonesia and India.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor asked about the financial cost of the state’s recent credit rating downgrade, referring to TasCorp chairman Don Challen’s advice last year that a downgrade could have a significant impact on investment.
Treasurer Peter Gutwein said the decision by Moody’s would have no immediate impact on the government as it was not borrowing money across forward estimates.
He continued to express his surprise in the downgrade, highlighting that the the state economy was growing at the fastest rate in six years and that the budget looked set to achieve a surplus next year.
Opposition finance spokesman Scott Bacon said an estimates report in February on the last budget showed expenditure had blown out by $90 million.
