TCCI welcomes increased revenue but says the government must work harder to reduce expenditure.

Revised treasury estimates released today show an increase in top line numbers have improved by 280 million dollars in terms of revenue for the 25/26 State Budget.

This is primarily due to an increase in GST revenue from Canberra and is welcome in terms of addressing the expenditure challenges we have as a state.

TCCI CEO Michael Bailey said it is disappointing to see that the revised budget figures also show expenditure is some 89 million dollars above where it should be.

Government must reign in expenditure in order to ensure that the state can live by its means. Mr Bailey said “the additional expenditure means that the hard-won windfall of 280 million dollars has been diluted and only 190 million dollars of the windfall will actually be used to address existing expenditure”.

As we have said, and will continue to say, Tasmania does not have an income problem, it has an expenditure problem. Government and department heads must strive to control costs and ensure the state can live within its means.

Media Contact:

Michael Bailey OAM - CEO