A leading state econonomist has made a strong request with the release of The Tasmania Report.
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Authored by Saul Eslake, it was released on Monday, the third in the series.
For three years running, they have been the annual pulse-reading of the state.
But this is the first report released in a state election period. What effect will it have on the way the election plays out?
Its 100-plus pages detail Tasmania’s performance across all sectors: education, employment, tourism, population, property – the lot.
It is a report that the media pores over for days, finding story after story, discussion point upon discussion point. And indeed, politicians do the same.
But perhaps those who should be doing the most poring are the voters.
The theme throughout Eslake’s report, in the commentary that he provides, is that Tasmania can indeed and easily, do better – it just needs to be prepared to put in the elbow grease.
He goes on to canvass issues which he believes the political parties should focus their policies on addressing, many of which are constants for Tasmania, in education, and heath and community services.
He touches on the state’s taxation system, suggesting an overhaul of the payroll tax, and swapping a land transfer stamp duty for a broad-based land tax.
For all the analysis and data, one of the most talked about aspects of the report is the conclusion, where Eslake implores Tasmanians to be bold.
And they are words all Tasmanians should act upon.
Our political parties must be bold in their policies.
Tasmanian voters are looking for hard and fast promises and detailed plans when it comes to those key areas of education, health, and employment.
They are sectors that have always mattered the most to the public.
We have seen in other states what disillusionment will do to the major political parties – they are punished by way of votes, distributed instead to the minority candidates.
But it is in the same breath that the “be bold” statement is distributed to voters.
Tell our politicians the causes that matter to you.
And as for the media?
It’s going to be a bold five months.