The Tasmanian Government today unveiled a blueprint to achieve a bright and prosperous economic future for the state.
The Economic Development Plan, launched in Hobart today, will guide Tasmania’s economic direction and priorities for the next decade and beyond.
The Premier, Lara Giddings, said the EDP built on Labor’s strong economic credentials, which were forged in 1998 with annual releases of the Industry Development Plan, new industry based programs, partnership agreements, industry audits and the establishment of industry councils.
“These initiatives highlighted a number of structural challenges facing the Tasmanian economy and in turn provided direction for economic and financial reform,” Ms Giddings said.
“These reforms helped modernise and diversify our economy and restore confidence in the State’s finances by returning the Budget to surplus and eliminating net debt.
“Now, as we adapt to the post GFC world, we are embarking on a new plan that allows us to adapt to the transition out of old industries and boost prosperity for Tasmanians through socially and environmentally sustainable development.
“Our vision under this plan is not to create wealth for a fortunate few, but to improve the lives of all Tasmanians.
“We know that jobs are the key to improving social standards and creating vibrant and resilient communities.
“That is why, under this plan, there is a strong emphasis on supporting job creating industries in regional and rural areas, assisted by the $120 million regional development fund recently committed by the Commonwealth in the Forestry Intergovernmental Agreement.
“All members of my Government will work together to support the economic development of the State.”
The Minister for Economic Development, David O’Byrne, said Labor had consistently driven reform underpinned by values that promote equity and a better life for all Tasmanians.
“A progressive view is needed to enact structural and economic change, and Labor is more trusted than any other party to lead the process of transition without leaving the more vulnerable members of our community behind,” he said.
“The Economic Development Plan is about ensuring we play to our strengths, and make the most of Tasmania’s natural advantages.
“It combines and builds upon the existing Infrastructure and Skills strategies, while the Innovation Strategy has been embedded within the Plan.”
Mr O’Byrne said that the Economic Development Plan was built on a strong foundation of intensive industry research and specialist knowledge.
“We have sought input from the people who shape Tasmania’s community and drive its economy every day,” he said.
“I have personally met with individuals, organisations, companies and industries to discuss the economic future of our state. This builds on the mountain of work my office and the Department of Economic Development have been undertaking over the past 18 months.
“We have been working extremely hard to ensure that we listened and gained a greater understanding of the journey our businesses, industries, investors and communities are on.
“It is clear that we need to adapt to changing environments and adapt to the changing circumstances in which we all operate.
“It’s very clear that the best way to grow and protect jobs is to take full advantage of Tasmania’s strengths and opportunities in key sectors of our economy,” he said.
Goals
Mr O’Byrne said the Economic Development Plan had four main goals which had received broad support during industry and community consultation.
“The goals of the Plan are to support and grow businesses in Tasmania; to maximise Tasmania’s potential in key sectors; to improve the social and environmental sustainability of the economy; and to support and grow communities within regions,” he said.
Initiatives
Initiatives in the Economic Development Plan will include:
Financial assistance and advisory services;
Business Tasmania Online;
An Energy Efficiency for Business Initiative;
Development of environmental indicators;
An environmental and social labelling feasibility study;
A Small Business Connect Project;
Establishment of a Major Investment Unit;
A new Sectoral Intelligence System;
Establishment of three new Regional Reference Groups to guide the development of regional plans;
The establishment of a Carbon Price Roundtable, which will involve business – including emitters.
Key Sectors
All sectors of the economy have been considered in the Plan, which provides strategies for Tasmania’s key trade and investment industry sectors. These are:
Antarctic and Southern Ocean
Building and construction
Food and agriculture – dairy, fruit, red meat, salmon, vegetables and wine
Forestry and related industries
Information and communications technology
Mining and mineral processing
Renewable energy
Specialist manufacturing
Science and research
Tourism.
“Attracting the best sustainable development to the State will in turn attract more people to live, work, visit and invest in Tasmania,” Mr O’Byrne said.
“By making smart decisions based on extensive research, we can continue to build Tasmania’s economy and secure our economic future – not just for the short term, but for
generations to come.”
To view the Economic Development Plan in its entirety, visit http://www.development.tas.gov.au/edp
• Missed opportunity lacking long-term vision, says Tim Morris
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN IS MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Strategy Needed to Position State
Tim Morris MP
Greens Economic Development spokesperson
Friday, 26 August 2011
The Tasmanian Greens today said that Labor’s Economic Development Plan is a missed opportunity in its current form, and lacks long-term vision or direction for the State.
Greens Economic Development spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that Tasmania needs a clear vision of where it intends to be in 20 to 30 years time, with an implementation plan that provides the community with confidence regarding the state’s economic and social direction, and how the state will get there.
Mr Morris also said that climate change, demographic shifts, the growing importance of brand in the market place, and the deindustrialisation occurring within the economy all present both challenges and opportunities for Tasmania.
“Labor’s Economic Development Plan, while it has some merit, is a missed opportunity and appears confused about what it is meant to be. Tasmania needs a holistic long term vision with a clear pathway to sustainable prosperity, and neither are presented convincingly in this document,” Mr Morris said.
“However, there are areas which the Greens believe have potential to make a positive contribution to the State.”
“Tasmania’s economy is currently in transition which requires a strategic whole-of-government approach to maximise new and emerging opportunities, and investing in making our economy less vulnerable to national or global market forces, building on our natural strengths.”
“This Plan recognises many of the key factors impacting upon Tasmania’s current and future economic position, however the proposed response is uninspired and remains caught up in the old way of doing business, which clearly no longer works.”
“For example, the notion of Project Mangers to foster large scale projects really is more of the same. We need a focus on how to mitigate the threats and maximise the opportunities of a deindustrialising economy but there is little initiative or inspiration in this area in the plan. ”
“Where is DED’s plan to incentivise private investment here through tax and other regulatory incentives? For example, the current business loans scheme loans for energy efficiency could be developed into a broader market mechanism to foster small, medium and large businesses.”
Mr Morris outlined key areas the Greens argue deserve greater emphasis within the Economic Development Plan:
Climate Change
“Commentators are already flagging that Tasmania has the potential to be the biggest beneficiary of the carbon price in the nation, and the State needs to be gearing up for this. It is extraordinary the lack of strategic direction on preparing for a low carbon economy in this Plan.”
“Similarly there is little indication of any work on redefining our current assets, such as forests, in the context of climate change and gearing up for their role and potential in long-term schemes such as carbon offset contracts in a carbon-constrained economy.”
Economic Transition – Deindustrialisation
“An important lesson from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) is we need to make our economy far more robust to withstand national and global market forces beyond our control.”
“Many western economies are going through a deindustrialisation phase, where we are seeing a decline in large manufacturing operations and an increased demand for a highly skilled, mobile and flexible workforce.”
Employment & Employability
“We need to recognize that the nature of employment is changing. People will have potentially numerous jobs and careers within their working life, and we need to be investing in employability.”
“Skill development is recognized in this Plan, however the focus needs to be preparing people for a different employment market place where flexibility and adaptability are considered employment strengths.”
Population
“A key challenge for Tasmania is its highly regional population, and any economic development plan needs to deal with deal with the challenges and opportunities of population dispersement.”
“Demographic change, as opposed to growth, can be a major driver of prosperity, if there is a focus on leveraging Tasmania as an attractive place to live, which can encourage people to move here who bring wealth and expertise.”
“Fortunately there are some of the key indicators that the Greens were looking for in this long-awaited Plan, such as a strategic focus on preparing for a low-carbon economy, building a more robust economy, and capacity building within our population by boosting education and skills development,” Mr Morris said.
• Plan to diversify Tasmania’s Economy Welcomed, says Phill Pullinger
Tasmania’s peak environment body has welcomed the State and Commonwealth governments’ commitment today to strengthen and diversify Tasmania’s economy, and in doing so recognise that Tasmania’s outstanding and unique natural environment is a key economic strength for Tasmania.
“Protecting Tassie’s natural environment and building a strong protected area network, genuine environmental protection and a clean, green brand into our economic planning is a critical component of diversifying and strengthening our economy,” said Dr Phill Pullinger, Director of Environment Tasmania,
“The $120 million regional development package and economic development plan announced by the State government today offers great opportunities to diversify and strengthen Tasmania’s economy,” he said, “We’ll be really keen to be actively engaged in the regional development plan as it is developed to help ensure it can deliver positive outcomes in sustainable development for rural and regional Tasmania,”
Environment Tasmania is a peak body for more than 20 conservation groups across Tasmania, with collective representation of over 5000 Tasmanians.
