John Howard in Tasmania following federal budget release

Former Prime Minister John Howard grinned for selfies, impromptu photos and small talk with the locals at the chilly Hobart waterfront on Wednesday.

Former Prime Minister John Howard grinned for selfies, impromptu photos and small talk with the locals at chilly the Hobart waterfront on Wednesday.

The 82-year-old who once led the federal Liberal government for 11 years was visiting Tasmania as a keynote speaker for the annual Property Congress – a huge national industry event hosted at the Hobart Grand Chancellor.

“(Tasmania is a) terrific place, and the economy here is going gangbusters compared with what it had been for years,” he told the Mercury.

Mr Howard has arguably been remembered most by Tasmanians for his response to the Port Arthur massacre, cracking down on gun laws and enacting the firearms buyback scheme.

His visit to Tasmania coincided with the release of this year’s federal budget, which he said had struck an effective balance between economics and politics. 

He supported funding for road upgrades and mental health assistance, as Tasmania looked to benefit from the budget considerably in both areas. 

“There’s a proper recognition that the pandemic has put a lot of pressure on peoples’ mental health, but also on the services that are now available,” he said, speaking to the media. 

The former Liberal leader said tourism was “probably of more importance than anything else” in Tasmania. 

Former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard in Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones.

Mr Howard believed “any part of the economy which is important to Tasmania now will continue to be important”, but he excluded investment in renewable energy from this sentiment, presenting a stark contrast with the state government’s push to become a major exporter in the sector. 

“Possessing, as we do, so many valuable fossil fuel assets, we’d be crazy to accelerate their phasing out,” he said, commenting on the instability on European energy supplies spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Despite championing a budget surplus during his time in office, Mr Howard backed Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s resolve to spend more money in light of the pandemic. 

“I liked the niche incentives for small businesses about employment investment, I thought they were very good,” he said. 

Mr Howard said a challenge moving forward was meeting housing demand, influenced by the “collision between the great Australian dream and the ultra-urbanisation of our society”.