The state budget has delivered on key commitments for the North of the state but the spotlight has been thrown on the health and education sectors as well as statewide initiatives to help many in the population.

A packed house at the Launceston Chamber of Commerce’s budget lunch briefing heard from the Treasurer and Premier Will Hodgman, who took questions from the floor on budget expenditure.

The buzz in the room was that it was overall a reasonable budget and there were no clear regional winners, with Tasmania’s three region’s each receiving a fair share of funding projects.

While on the surface it appears a typical “pre-election” budget, with lots of investment in infrastructure, schools and health, one major difference appeared in this year’s spending allocation.

The state government will go back to black in the 2017-18 period and will take the budget back to surplus.

It was a budget that didn’t rob Peter to pay Paul but rather, some strategic saving over the last few years has lead to an opportunity where the state government is able to splash cash it already has saved on important projects across the state.

The budget also helped to mitigate some of the concerns in the community over health, potentially heading off some key problems that could be picked up by Labor heading into the election.

A clear winner of the budget was the state’s health sector., with record spending for the Royal Hobart Hospital and the Launceston General Hospital as well as surprise funding for the North-West’s Mersey Community Hospital.

While there were no surprises funding announcements for the North of the state, the region did receive its fair share of funding that was spread across the area.

Key commitments such as the City Deal, the UTAS relocation and Launceston’s City Heart project all received funding, that will assist other tiers of government to deliver on several rejuvenation plans for the city.

In addition, the East Coast will receive a new hospital as well as as an important injection of tourism funds.

Only time will tell on whether these projects deliver the outcomes wanted but it is a step in the right direction for the future.