Tasmanian Labor stands for safe, secure, well-paid jobs. That’s why we’re so concerned about the latest jobs and population data released by the ABS, which shows what Jeremy Rockliff’s minority government is doing to Tasmania’s economy.

Staggeringly, 6,700 jobs have been lost since Premier Rockliff lost control of the Parliament. Tasmania is the only state where jobs are being lost. Jeremy Rockliff himself said that minority government would crash jobs and the economy – and that’s exactly what we’re seeing.

Tasmania’s participation rate is still the worst in the nation at 60.3 per cent, almost seven percentage points below the national average. And there are currently 11,800 Tasmanians unemployed, which is still the worst result since COVID three years ago.

The latest population data showed that Tasmania’s population growth is still the lowest in the nation at 0.3 per cent. It’s now more than two years since more people were moving to Tasmania than leaving.

Weak population growth driven by the worst net migration levels we’ve seen in decades is a huge weakness for the Tasmanian economy. Every four days a planeload of Tasmanians leave our shores in search of better opportunities elsewhere, and they’re working-age, tax-paying Tasmanians that we need participating in our economy.

Data release after data release is showing that Jeremy Rockliff’s minority government is bad for Tasmania.

This latest indictment on his leadership comes after the business community has publicly declared that its confidence in the Liberal minority government has been shattered, the TCCI said that “it will be very difficult to trust this Government again.”

Labor’s priority is making sure Tasmanians can find work in well-paid, safe, and secure jobs because that’s the key to invigorating Tasmania’s flatlining economy.

Luke Edmunds MLC
Shadow Minister for Finance