Today my Parliamentary Liberal Party colleagues have elected me to be their leader and the 46th Premier of Tasmania.
I am honored and privileged that they have put their trust in me and along with my good friend and colleague Jeremy Rockliff I will work hard to ensure that I continue the excellent work of my predecessor Will Hodgman.
We will continue to implement the Government’s long term plan to make Tasmania an even better place to live and for people to raise families.
I want to thank Michael and Elise for putting forward an alternative leadership team and the way they have conducted themselves throughout.
Michael Ferguson deserves special mention. I have long respected his capacity, his hard work and his intellect and again make the point that I appreciate the disciplined and professional way that the discussions of the last six days have been conducted.
This process needed to take its course- and as a political party we make no apologies for that.
This has been a demonstration of a disciplined government going through necessary processes to arrive at a decision.
And as a result of allowing this process to occur the team I lead remains united and focused on delivering for Tasmanians.
Our government will be a government of conviction, of compassion and importantly one of opportunity for all.
Our Plan has worked and I see no need for radical divergence from that plan. Tasmanians need to know that the sensible responsible government we have provided in the past will continue under my leadership.
Our plan to manage the State’s finances well has delivered record levels of confidence, the fastest growing economy in the country and more than 18,000 new jobs across the state.
This has enabled us to invest more into education, health and essential services, and looking after our most disadvantaged.
We will stay the course and deliver the policies and the plan that we took to the last election. Tasmanians voted for us on that basis and we will not betray that trust and continue to be the government that they elected.
However there is more to do, demand in health remains at elevated levels and we need to do more. Demand for housing hasn’t abated and we need to do more, a rapidly changing climate is now the new normal and we must learn from the recent lessons of the mainland bushfires and once again we must do more.
I also understand very clearly that not every Tasmanian is reaping the benefits of our stronger economy and that not every Tasmanian is able to grasp the opportunities that present.
I come from humble circumstances, I am the son of immigrants who came to this country 50 years ago on the promise of a better life. Through hard work my parent’s built a life for themselves and they worked night and day so that their children could have a better life than they.
And they succeeded.
My vision for the State is for a Tasmania that no matter where you live, no matter what your background is, no matter what your circumstances are - opportunities will be there and if you want to grasp those opportunities a better life will be within your reach.
It is clear to me that our State's best days are still in front of us, Tasmania’s strengths are well recognised.
We are well on our way to becoming the eco-tourism capital of the world.
We are the countries renewable energy powerhouse and we can and will become the Battery of the Nation.
We can and will find a pathway for Tasmanians to play their part in National sporting competitions
The Government that I lead will bring these exciting projects to fruition to ensure that all Tasmanians will have the opportunity they deserve to improve their lives and their standard of living.
I look forward to working closely with all of my Liberal colleagues to meet our commitments and deliver our plan for Tasmania.