Tasmania’s business lobby urges parliament to get back to work
Tasmania’s business lobby has urged the parliament to get back to work, as political deadlock leaves the state without a clear path to government. How “horse-trading” is hurting business.
Tasmania
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Tasmania’s business lobby has urged the parliament to get back to work, as political deadlock leaves the state without a clear path to government.
Flanked by a coalition of industry chiefs, Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Michael Bailey fronted the media in Hobart on Sunday demanding the parliament “get on with the job of leading Tasmania”.
He said “horse trading” between parties behind the scenes was hurting the state’s business sector.
“What we can’t afford is to have weeks of horse trading behind the scenes while government is trying to form,” Mr Bailey said.
“We know elections are destabilising (and) problematic for businesses, and in this situation … business really holds its breath to see what the parliament looks like.
“This has been a huge distraction for Tasmanian business and for investment, and it’s time that parliament gets back working again.”
Mr Bailey said the TCCI did not have a preference as to who formed government, only that they did it “quickly”.
“We know that (Premier) Jeremy Rockliff has the first opportunity of going to the governor, and seems like he probably has the most likely way forward … but it doesn’t really matter to us,” he said.
Leading up to the election, the TCCI expressed support for key policies from both major parties – backing Labor’s budget repair plan and the Liberals’ TasInsure proposal – while urging all sides to prioritise “stability, certainty and good governance”.
Mr Bailey said the results so far had shown Tasmanians had indeed voted for stability by backing the state’s key industries, including salmon farming, forestry, Marinus Link and mining.
He said with 70 per cent of Tasmanians voting for the major parties they had also endorsed the Macquarie Point Stadium, suggesting the issue had not been the election decider that many had predicted.
“The Liberal Party (and) the Labor Party vote increased and the Greens stayed stable … and that’s really pleasing,” Mr Bailey said.
“Tasmanians know that for us to have a future that’s viable for our state, we need our industries to be backed.”
Whoever forms government will need support from the crossbench – bulk of which, as it stands, oppose the stadium.
Despite this, Mr Bailey expressed confidence in the project going ahead.
“When we have both Labor and Liberal so strongly behind the stadium there’s always a pathway through parliament,’ he said.
Originally published as Tasmania’s business lobby urges parliament to get back to work
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