Tassie 2022: Our action plan focusing on the 10 biggest issues for the state
TODAY we publish an action plan made up of the 10 biggest issues raised in our Tassie 2022 reporting.
Politics
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Tasmania 2022
Action Plan
1. POPULATION GROWTH
Significant planning and investment is needed to ensure that infrastructure and services keep pace as our population grows to 650,000 by 2050.
2 REAL FIX FOR RENTAL CRISIS
Hobart is suffering the lowest vacancy rates recorded in an Australian capital city at only 0.4 per cent. Both sides need to address this urgently.
3. ADDRESS THE GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POOR
As Tasmania gentrifies, the have-nots are being pushed to the urban fringes. There also remains an economic disparity between Hobart and the regions.
4. NEW INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE ARTS
How do we capitalise on the Mona effect in regional areas? And how should we fund better arts infrastructure — possibly via a levy on construction.
MORE: OUR ROADMAP TO PROSPERITY
EDITORIAL: IT’S TIME TO DELIVER
5. REVIEW THE USE OF STATE GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
Independent review of state-owned heritage buildings currently occupied by public servants or commercial businesses.
6. FIX DRYSDALE
We need to ensure proper training for tourism operators and workers. Perhaps learn from what New Zealand did leading up to the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
7. SOURCE MORE FUNDING FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND AGED CARE
Tasmanians want more supported accommodation for people with mental illness, and our ageing population needs a better plan to meet the demand for aged care.
8. FIX TASTAFE
We need to revitalise TAFE. Not every student is bound for university, and TAFE will be vital to state growth as a key producer of skilled workers.
9. TRANSPORT
Fix congestion in Hobart with light rail, River Derwent ferries and/or bypasses. Also required are better regional transport links and improved interstate freight transport.
10. COST OF LIVING
Petrol prices have been an issue for years. Households also want cheaper electricity and help with small-scale renewable energy to become more self-sufficient.
Planning changes branded ’undemocratic’
The government’s plan to ban third-party appeals against development approvals are “some of the most anti-democratic laws the state has ever seen”, Planning Matters Alliance Tasmania says.
Eslake says budget repair response ‘lacks substance’
The state government has rejected or ignored the bulk of the recommendations of an independent report it commissioned into the state’s finances, a response its author has described as “disappointing”.