11 June 2018

Peter Gutwein, Treasurer

Helping Tasmanians with the cost of living

The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to making Tasmania an even better place to live, work and build your future.

The Government understands electricity, water and rates bills can have a big impact on household budgets.

We want Tasmanians to be able to look forward with confidence to a better quality of life which is why we are delivering on our Plan to reduce cost of living pressures.

The 2018-19 Budget and forward estimates includes a range of new, as well as ongoing initiatives totalling nearly $300 million that will reduce pressure on household budgets, including;

• Capping electricity prices rises at CPI for three years, saving the average residential customer approximately $179 a year.
• Working with TasWater and Local Government to freeze water and sewerage price rises in 2019-20, and cap future price rises to no more than 3.5 per cent.
• Introducing a 50 per cent stamp duty discount for seniors downsizing to a home that better suits their needs, a saving of up to $7,000.
• A 50 per cent stamp duty holiday for first home buyers for homes up to $400,000; saving those starting out up to $7,000.
• $3 million for our innovative Ticket to Play voucher system to enable more children to participate in local sport.

Ongoing initiatives include:

• $181 million to provide electricity concessions for low income Tasmanians.
• $111 million in rates, water and sewerage concessions for low income households.

Tasmania is a much stronger, prouder and more confident place as a result of the hard work undertaken by the Hodgman Liberal Government over the past four years to improve Tasmanian’s Budget position.

It is this hard work that allows us to continue to invest more in essential services to support Tasmanians as we deliver on our Plan to build your future.

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