Media Release

Peter Gutwein MP
Shadow Treasurer

Wednesday 7th July 2010

TCCI Survey Confirms Decline in Business Confidence

Today's TCCI Survey of Business Expectations confirms that businesses are losing confidence in the Tasmanian economy.

It's little wonder that businesses are concerned, given that the Labor-Green Government, by its own admission, does not have an economic development plan, an industry plan or a jobs plan.

It's one thing to make pie-in-the-sky claims about creating 15,000 jobs, it's another thing to actually explain how this will be achieved.

Even Treasury contend in the Budget Papers that workers in some sectors could soon start leaving Tasmania in droves because there are better job prospects in other states.

While the Labor-Green Government contends that the drop in business confidence simply matches a national trend, even the TCCI says "Tasmanian businesses feel less confident about the Tasmanian economy compared to the national economy."

Tasmania's economy is not keeping pace with the increased activity in the Australian economy and we believe one of the key reasons for this is the instability and uncertainty created by the Labor-Green coalition.