Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to compliment the Tasmanian state government on the budget they have just recently brought down. The 2015-16 budget brought down by Treasurer Peter Gutwin in the last couple of weeks is really about heading in the right direction and building on momentum. I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon last week to hear the Premier and the Treasurer outline their plan for Tasmania. As I and my colleagues in this place often speak about, the economy in Tasmania is indeed recovering. In fact, business confidence in Tasmania remains at the highest level in the nation. In the past year 4,200 jobs have been created. Treasury forecasts that the Tasmanian economy will grow by 2.5 per cent in 2015-16, and that employment will increase by a total of 3.25 per cent over the 2014-15 and 2015-16 financial years.

But as we all know, there is more to do. Indeed, the centrepiece of the Tasmanian state budget this year was a suite of initiatives to support jobs growth. In fact, there was $315 million to support the creation of 8,000 new jobs. The jobs package is aimed squarely at improving the economy and underpinning jobs growth. It includes substantial amounts of money: $120 million for rail infrastructure; $60 million for the Northern Cities Major Development Initiative, which particularly targets Launceston, Devonport and Burnie and includes the Devonport Living City Project; $90 million dollars for the second tranche of irrigation schemes, which I have spoken about often in this place in the past 12 months; and $8 million for the Business and Job Attraction Scheme.

Health is so important in Tasmania. It is one of the biggest challenges that our state government has. The figures for health and presentations are unacceptable in my electorate, as they are in other parts of Tasmania. There has been a $100 million boost to front-line health under Michael Ferguson, the Minister for Health. The Hodgman Liberal government is making the biggest ever investment in Tasmania's health system, with $100 million in additional funding and a total budget of more than $6 billion over the four years of the forward estimates to help Tasmanians get high-quality health care when they need it. I particularly congratulate Michael Ferguson, the minister, on his initiative, the one health system reform, which is about getting more Tasmanians the highest possible standard of care. It means more Tasmanians will be getting the treatment they need when they need it in a state-wide health system where each hospital specialises in the services that they are best equipped to deliver, importantly, safely and efficiently. There has been an additional $76 million commitment to reduce waiting lists with the elective surgery that will provide treatment for up to 15,000 Tasmanians. I was very pleased also to see that there will be the provision of an additional ambulance officer at Oatlands in the Southern Midlands. That was something that was very high on the priority list for that part of Tasmania.

As Peter Gutwein, the Treasurer, said:

If the message in the Federal Budget was to have a go, the message in this one—

the Tasmanian state budget—

is to have that go here in Tasmania.

I congratulate him very much on that initiative. There was a substantial initiative for infrastructure spending on roads such as the Esk Main Road, the commitment on the Midlands Highway as well as the Tasmanian highway, and I congratulate Premier Will Hodgman on his vision for the great east coast road that I think in time will certainly rival the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. There are outstanding vistas wherever you are, and the opportunity that our state has to have one of our country's most iconic tourism drives is something that I think every Tasmanian appreciates and understands. The investment that the state government has made in tourism is truly unprecedented on the back of national recognition that has been achieved through awards very recently that are quite outstanding, and I congratulate the Premier and all involved in the tourism industry.