**Check against delivery**

 

Thank you for having me this morning. 

 

It is a pleasure to be here alongside so many people who are committed to building a stronger, more prosperous Tasmania.

 

To understand Tasmanian Labor's vision for our state's future, we must first understand the lesson of our past. 

 

When Tasmanians work together—business, workers, unions, community organisations and government—around a shared purpose and a common plan, there is very little that we cannot achieve.

 

Like everyone in this room, I want to build a Tasmania where prosperity is shared, where opportunity exists in every community, and where our children can build their future without feeling they have to leave the state they love.

 

That matters because too many people of my generation have grown up believing Tasmania has always been destined to trail the rest of the country economically. But that simply isn't true.

 

For much of our history—from before Federation until the early 1980s—Tasmania's economy, measured on a per capita basis, stood alongside the strongest in Australia.

 

At different times, our economy was larger than those of South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. 

 

We were not a state that accepted decline. We were a state that competed.

 

Our success rested on a simple proposition: we understood our comparative advantages, and we built an economy around them.

 

Following the Second World War, the Reece Government invested boldly in hydro-electric power. 

 

Cheap, reliable energy attracted manufacturing, created secure jobs and enabled Tasmania to overcome the tyranny of the Bass Strait. 

 

At the same time, thousands of migrants from war-torn Europe made Tasmania their home, bringing the skills, determination and optimism that helped build modern Tasmania.

 

Our post-war boom was forged in the mines of Queenstown, Rosebery and Savage River. 

 

Built in the mills of Burnie, Wesley Vale and Launceston; powered by the men and women who carved hydro-electric schemes into the Central Highlands.

 

And sustained by the farms, forests, ports and industries that became the backbone of our economy.

 

That was the Tasmanian economy of the post-war boom.

 

It succeeded because government had the confidence to invest, business had the confidence to expand, and working people had the opportunity to build a better life. 

 

Tasmania did not become prosperous by accident. We became prosperous because we recognised our strengths and had the courage to build upon them.

 

When that economic model came under pressure, Tasmanian Labor led the state, with business, workers and the community to build a new economy. 

 

Jim Bacon understood that the economy of the future would not look like the economy of the past. 

 

His government invested in Tasmania's culture, our arts, our premium food and wine industries, and our tourism sector. 

 

It helped restore confidence in Tasmania and changed how Australians saw our state.

 

That was the second great post-war Tasmanian economy.

 

History tells us something important. Every successful Tasmanian government has recognised the opportunity of its time. 

 

None simply defended yesterday's economy. Each had the confidence to build tomorrow's.

 

Today, that responsibility falls to our generation to build the third.

 

The world is changing once again. 

 

Nations are investing in clean energy, rebuilding sovereign manufacturing, securing critical minerals and reshaping supply chains. 

 

New technologies are transforming the way we produce, manufacture and trade. 

 

The countries and regions that recognise these changes early will be the ones that prosper over the decades ahead.

 

For Tasmania, this is not something to fear.

 

We possess extraordinary natural advantages. 

 

We have world-class renewable energy resources. We have critical minerals. 

 

We have internationally respected agricultural, aquaculture and research sectors. 

 

We have a skilled workforce and a long history of solving difficult engineering and industrial challenges.

 

In many respects, this moment resembles the one Eric Reece faced after the Second World War.

 

Then, the opportunity was hydro-electricity.

 

Today, it is wind and other similar forms of renewable energy.

 

But the lesson of our history is that energy is never the destination. It is the competitive advantage.

 

The Hydro was never simply about generating electricity. 

 

It was about what cheap, reliable electricity made possible. 

 

It powered manufacturing. It attracted investment. It created industries. It underpinned decades of economic growth.

 

Our ambition today should be no different.

 

The goal is not simply to build more renewable energy. 

 

The goal is to use that energy to make Tasmania the best place in Australia to manufacture, to mine and process critical minerals, to develop advanced industries, to produce high-value food and to attract businesses that depend on abundant, reliable clean power. 

 

It is to attract service sector jobs connected to these critical industries of the future.

 

That is what I believe can become the third great post-war Tasmanian economy.

 

But opportunity alone does not guarantee success.

 

After more than a decade of Liberal government, Tasmania faces structural challenges that limit our capacity to grow. 

 

Labour productivity has stagnated. Too many businesses struggle to find skilled workers. 

 

Too many young Tasmanians continue to leave in search of opportunity. 

 

Housing shortages make it harder to attract workers and investment. Freight costs continue to impose a burden that no mainland business faces.

 

These are not isolated problems. They are interconnected barriers to economic growth.

 

If a business cannot find workers, it cannot expand.

 

If workers cannot find housing, they cannot relocate.

 

If freight costs remain too high, manufacturers become less competitive.

 

If education and skills fall behind, productivity follows.

 

These are economic challenges, and they require an economic response.

 

That is why a Tasmanian Labor Government will focus relentlessly on the fundamentals of long-term prosperity.

 

We will invest in housing because housing is economic infrastructure.

 

We will rebuild TAFE because skills are economic infrastructure.

 

We will work to reduce the cost of crossing Bass Strait because connectivity is economic infrastructure.

 

We will pursue planning reform that gives investors confidence while maintaining community trust.

 

And we will place productivity at the centre of economic policy, because stronger productivity is what ultimately delivers higher wages, more competitive businesses and better public services.

 

But perhaps the greatest difference between Tasmanian Labor and the current government is not simply the policies we pursue. 

 

It is how we intend to govern.

 

We believe governments achieve the best outcomes when they work alongside the people who build our economy.

 

Government does not possess all the answers.

 

Business does not possess all the answers.

 

Nor do unions or community organisations.

 

But together, each brings knowledge that the others do not.

 

Business understands markets.

 

Workers understand their experience of the workplace.

 

Communities understand places.

 

The government's responsibility is to bring those perspectives together into a shared economic vision.

 

Because no government, no business and no organisation can build Tasmania's future alone.

 

We will only succeed if we build it together.

 

To build this third great post-war Tasmanian economy, Labor understands that we must not only work with our communities, but back the great industrial firms that already call Tasmania home,  businesses that provide secure, well-paid jobs and drive our economy.

 

In recent months have seen major employers like Liberty Bell Bay go under after failing to secure a workable power deal. 

 

Now Bell Bay Aluminium is at risk, with Hydro Tasmania unwilling to bridge the gap.

 

This is unacceptable and short-sighted, and a risk to Tasmania’s long-term economic interests.

 

Faced with a budget crisis of its own making, this Government appears intent on squeezing every last dollar from Hydro Tasmania for a short-term budget fix - even at the expense of the state's long-term economic interests.

 

Labor will always take the long view.

 

We will always back Tasmania’s manufacturing, mining and energy industries — the industries that built this state and that will play a critical role in building the third great post-war Tasmanian economy.

 

Hydro Tasmania already has a Ministerial Charter.

That charter is clear.

It requires Hydro to act in Tasmania's long-term interests and to contribute to the state's economic, social and environmental wellbeing.

Those obligations already exist.

The issue isn't that the charter needs rewriting.

The issue is that this Government hasn't insisted it be honoured.

Labor will.

Labor will uphold Hydro Tasmania's charter.

We will ensure it is honoured in both the spirit and the letter.

Because Hydro Tasmania doesn't exist simply to maximise next year's dividend.

It exists to help build Tasmania's long-term prosperity.

The lesson of Tasmania's history is remarkably consistent.

 

When we have confidence in ourselves...

 

When we recognise the opportunities before us...

 

When government provides leadership and acts in the long-run interest of the state...

 

And when business, workers and communities pull in the same direction...

 

Tasmania succeeds.

 

That was true in the age of hydro.

 

It was true when Tasmania reinvented itself through tourism, culture and premium industries.

 

And I believe it can be true again.

 

I reject the idea that Tasmania's best days are behind us.

 

I believe our greatest opportunity still lies ahead. 

 

Our future can be made bright. 

 

The first great post-war Tasmanian economy was built on hydro-electricity, manufacturing and the determination of working people.

 

The second was built on Tasmania's unique lifestyle, culture and natural beauty.

 

The third can be built on clean energy, advanced manufacturing, innovation and the extraordinary talents of the Tasmanian people.

 

That future will not happen by accident.

 

It will require ambition.

 

It will require partnership.

 

It will require leadership.

 

Above all, it will require confidence—confidence that this small island has never lacked when it has believed in itself.

 

That is the confidence Tasmanian Labor wants to realise. And that is the future we intend to build with the people in this room. 

 

Thank you.