The Hodgman Majority Liberal Government is committed to supporting Tasmanian businesses to grow and create jobs, and our Buy Local Policy is making a real difference.
The Government committed to growing the number of Tasmanian businesses awarded government contracts to 90 per cent by 2022, and I’m pleased to note that we have achieved this goal.
Our Buy Local Policy for Government procurement means the benefits to the wider community, such as job creation and social benefits, must be taken into account when decisions are made on awarding contracts.
The evidence shows that our policies are clearly working. Tasmanian businesses have been consistently winning a significantly larger share of open procurements under the Hodgman Government.
After strengthening our policy in August, we saw our 90 per cent commitment achieved with open contracts, with 35 of a total of 39 contracts awarded to Tasmanian businesses.
Importantly, these 35 contracts comprised 97 per cent of the total value of open procurements awarded during the September 2018 quarter.
Today I visited one of the companies that is benefiting from the growth in Tasmania’s building and construction industry, and was also successful in the government tender to design and construct a pre-fabricated staff amenities block at the orange-bellied parrot captive breeding facility.
Tasbuilt Homes is looking to expand their facilities, to be able to construct even more buildings on site, for transport around Tasmania.
Tasmania’s building and construction industry is booming. ABS figures have this week again confirmed Tasmania is leading the nation with growth in the residential construction. The Construction Work Done preliminary figures for the September 2018 quarter showing a 31.7 per cent increase in the value of new residential work done, compared to the previous year, which was almost four times higher than the national growth rate of 8.6 per cent.
The Hodgman Majority Liberal Government’s plan to encourage growth in Tasmania’s building and construction sector is clearly working.
The more we can do to help promote local spending the better it is for all Tasmanians, and by continuing to apply the local benefits test we help ensure our local businesses have the best chance of securing Government contracts and a strong financial future.
Our targets to grow the building and construction sector include:
See all our targets at https://www.tas.liberal.org.au/sites/default/files/BuildingYourFuture.pdf
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