In my last column I wrote about the need for Tasmania to exploit its natural advantage when it came to power prices relative to the dysfunctional mainland grid.
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I suggested that we should have the lowest prices in the country, and that we should be promoting this and encouraging businesses from other states to come to Tasmania.
Such an approach has the very real prospect of improving our economy and employment levels throughout the state and it is something that we should be striving for.
But why stop there?
We have a range of advantages and disadvantages in our wonderful state.
Some, like distance, are difficult to address; others are just challenges looking for resolution.
A solution in Tasmania requires a Tasmanian perspective and method.
- Peter Skillern
We have a relatively small population, which means that we cannot afford to be lavish with our resources.
We need to ensure that we maximise the return on our investments in the state.
We can do it; it just requires some innovative thinking and follow-up action.
To begin with we should carefully consider the current trend of attempting to duplicate everything that other states do.
Tasmania is unique and some of this duplication simply will not work here.
Our climate is different, our culture is, to some point, different and our landscape is different.
As a result a solution in Tasmania requires a Tasmanian perspective and method.
Let’s go further and look closely at the costs that we all must deal with and see if they need to be as high as they are.
Energy, as I said, is one, however so is freight, particularly across Bass Strait.
The high cost of sending product out and importing product in, does nothing to enhance our economic prosperity.
It makes our competitiveness difficult to maintain.
We often hear about the premium that Tasmanian agricultural products bring, however that only allows us to cover our costs, it does not translate into higher profits for Tasmanian businesses and farms.
As a state I would suggest that we need a well thought out overarching strategy to, where possible, eliminate some costs and significantly reduce others.
Government has a role to play, as does industry, in advocating for change and, where required, partnering with government to achieve common objectives.
The near constant threat of a reduction in our state GST receipts by the Commonwealth will, at some point, become a reality.
It requires us to secure a sustainable economic future based on local advantages and local initiative and innovation.
We should all be looking to reduce the regulatory burden at local, state and federal government levels.
We should also be maximising the advantages that our state has, and addressing challenges such as high freight costs.