Tassie ‘quietly kicking goals’, says latest Business Outlook report from Deloitte Access Economics

TREASURER Peter Gutwein has hailed an economic report which says Tasmania’s growth is above the national average.

Tasmanian Treasurer Peter Gutwein has welcomed Deloitte Access Economic’s latest assessment of the business outlook in the island state. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

TREASURER Peter Gutwein has hailed an economic report which says Tasmania’s growth is above the national average.

The latest Business Outlook report from Deloitte Access Economics said Tasmania’s economy had been “quietly kicking goals”.

‘Tasmania has been one of the bigger beneficiaries of the lower Australian dollar and lower interest rates,” the report says.

It highlights tourism and hospitality, population growth and jobs growth as key drivers of the economy.

“We estimate that output growth in Tasmania has picked up to the highest rate in the state since early 2010,” the report says.

“Output growth in Tasmania may have even been a touch above the national average in early 2017.

“While many people’s attention has been focused on developments in the larger states, Tasmania’s economy has been quietly kicking goals.”

But there are some dark clouds, with Deloitte warning that “structural negatives on the longer-term outlook remain entrenched, suggesting caveats on current conditions”.

The report singled out commercial construction as a shining light in the economy.

“The state’s commercial construction sector has been doing much better, with the value of work done lifting by more than a quarter over the last year alone,” it said.

“That improvement in prospective activity has been supported by impressive growth in the accommodation and health-care sectors.”

Mr Gutwein said 2017 Budget measures such as the Tasmanian Economic Stimulus and support for traineeships and apprenticeships would continue the momentum.