Alarming figures from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show that Tasmanian business failures surged in the past 12 months – providing further evidence the Liberals are running the economy into the ground.

There were 38 business failures in 2022-23, but that number rose to 94 in the last financial year, representing an increase of nearly 150 per cent.

The next highest increase was 59.5 per cent in the ACT, showing the number of businesses going bust in Tasmania is significantly worse than the rest of the country and damning evidence that the Liberals can’t be trusted with the Tasmanian economy.

Insolvencies were most prominent in the construction industry, concerning for a state that isn’t building anywhere near enough houses to meet demand and should have aspirations for more major infrastructure projects in the future to drive our economy forward.

Since Jeremy Rockliff’s leadership sent his government into minority, Tasmania has already shed 5,000 jobs, businesses are going bust at an alarming rate, record numbers of young people are leaving for the mainland and the Liberal-Lambie Coalition is set to hand down a horror budget.

Labor stands for safe, secure, well-paid jobs. We want to see the state be the easiest place to do business, creating more opportunities for Tasmanians in the economy.

Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer