Budget to support 7,600 jobs for Tasmanians

21 May 2017

Peter Gutwein, Treasurer

The Hodgman Government’s number one priority is jobs.

Under our long-term Plan, 6,400 jobs have been created and the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.8 per cent, the second lowest rate of any state in the country, but there is still a lot more to do.

That’s why this budget will contain a game changing job creation package, so that we can build Tasmania’s future.  It will help support 7,600 jobs right around the State.

The centrepiece of the package is a $25 million youth employment strategy that will give young Tasmanians a helping hand to land a job.  If we can help more young people find work, we will help them stay in Tasmania and build a future right here at home.

The $25 million youth employment strategy includes:

• $17.1 million in payroll tax relief for businesses that employ apprentices, trainees and young people;
• grants of up to $4,000 for small businesses to employ a trainee or apprentice;
• $4.1 million to partner with TasCOSS and the TCCI to remove barriers that stop young people from getting a job, such as transport; and
• $1.1 million for the Workforce for Now and the Future initiative, including the Driving for Jobs trial to help young people get a driver’s licence by blending driver training with education and vocational training.

There are a number of other measures in the Budget that will help all Tasmanians right around the State find work, such as the $60 million Tasmanian Economic Stimulus Scheme, which alone will support up to 800 direct and indirect jobs and will allow councils to bring forward much needed infrastructure projects.

The reason we can invest in these job-creating initiatives is because we have balanced the budget.