Please note: This is under embargo until 12.01am Monday October 20, 2014
The latest CommSec State of the States report highlights "encouraging" signs of recovery in Tasmania.
We said jobs growth would be the Liberal Government's number one priority and while there is still a lot of work to do, the number of jobs in Tasmania is increasing.
By CommSec's assessment, compared against the unemployment decade average we are now outperforming some of the bigger states, such as Queensland and Victoria, and our unemployment rate at 7.2% is the lowest it has been in 20 months.
We are seeing early results as the Liberal Government works to deliver our long-term plan through fixing the Labor-Green budget mess, keeping our promises and laying the foundations for the future.
In terms of the annual growth of real retail trade, Tasmania is leading the way, with a 6.6 per cent rise and monthly retail trade recorded the second strongest growth rate of all the states and territories.
Construction work was up 5.2 per cent in the June quarter; the strongest growth we have seen in four years.
Confidence is particularly growing in new home construction, with a 19.3 per cent increase in dwelling starts in the June quarter compared to a year earlier. Furthermore, over the last 12 months we have had the second best outcome for growth in home loans with growth of 6.9 per cent.
This report is encouraging, with a number of positives, but we are in no doubt about the task that is before us.
The Liberal Government is committed to our long-term plan of creating jobs and growing the economy.
Our plan includes payroll tax rebates and incentives for small businesses to create new jobs, and fixing the planning system and opening up national parks for sensible tourism investment to drive development.
There is much to do, but we are getting on with the job of making Tasmania the place to live, work and invest.