The TCCI Survey released today shows that while there is still a lot of work to do, Tasmania is heading in the right direction.
The results show that jobs are being created, that confidence is higher than it was under the previous Government and that our long-term Plan is delivering for Tasmanians.
The results also confirm what I have been saying for many months, that the North and North-West haven’t recovered as quickly as the South has.
That’s why the budget had specific measures aimed at growing the economy on the North and North-West, including a $60 million Northern Cities Major Development initiative that will help revitalise Launceston, Burnie and Devonport, encourage investment and create thousands of jobs. This includes funding to support the Devonport Living City project, strengthen the UTAS presence in Burnie as well as supporting the very exciting concept of moving the University campus into the centre of Launceston at Inveresk.
In addition to this, the Budget also contains nearly $200 million in new initiatives for the North and North-West. In the North that ranges from investment in Prospect, Kings Meadows and Riverside high schools, to funds for the redevelopment of the Ravenswood Community Health Centre, the St Helen’s Hospital redevelopment, and St Helens and Prosser River barway stabilisation projects to funding for the Great Eastern Drive.
While in the North-West, the Government is investing in patient transport, youth accommodation and training, police housing, Parklands, Latrobe, Devonport, Smithton and Wynyard high schools, the West Coast Wilderness Railway and the North-West Regional Cancer Centre.
All of these infrastructure projects will help drive the North and North-West economies and create jobs, with many of these projects shovel ready and ready to start now.