NEWS
Training, infrastructure and support for Tasmania’s businesses the key to Tasmania’s economic recovery
16 March 2021
By Michael Bailey Chief Executive Officer
The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has welcomed the State of the State speech today and in particular the release of the Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council (PESRAC) Report.
TCCI CEO, Michael Bailey, said that it was the TCCI’s clear view that the key to Tasmania’s economic recovery is training, infrastructure and support for Tasmania’s businesses.
“Today’s State of the State speech was a clear demonstration that the Government has been listening to the TCCI and the community more broadly,” Mr Bailey said.
“There are four key elements to today’s speech from the TCCI’s perspective.
“Firstly, for too long TAFE has been a training provider of last resort rather than a training organisation of first choice. We expect the Government to follow through now and make the changes needed to ensure that TAFE will train the workforce of the future and will be flexible, efficient, effective and responsive to the needs of industry. Industry has been crying out for flexible training options, delivered in ways that suit them and their employees. That flexibility is critical if we want to get more Tasmanians in to work and see our economy grow.
“It’s also worth noting that the PESRAC Report recommended maintaining contestable funding across the vocational training sector. Private training providers are an important part of the mix and we need to make sure they can continue to play an important role.
“Secondly, while the Government often talks about its record investment in infrastructure, we believe that fundamentally it is the right approach and we hope the Government can further reduce the roadblocks to the money actually being spent rather than just promised. That applies to private sector developments too. The Premier has acknowledged the issue in his speech and we encourage the Government to act quickly in this area.
“Thirdly, the support for the business sector announced or reaffirmed in the State of the State speech is welcome. We know that when JobKeeper ends on 31 March that a number of Tasmanian businesses will struggle. We know that for some businesses they will need extra assistance to keep them going and to keep employing Tasmanians and the Premier showed in his speech that he has listened.
“Finally, while we welcome the Premier’s comments on local government reform, we think it’s time the Government acts rather than setting up yet another review into the local government sector. It seems in recent years I’ve lost track of what we’ve got more of – the number of local councils or the number of reviews into why we have so many local councils.”
Contact: TCCI Chief Executive, Michael Bailey, mobile 0437 322 338