Media Release

Peter Gutwein MP
Shadow Treasurer

Tuesday 1st June 2010

Private Investment Collapse

New figures released by the Bureau of Statistics show that private investment in Tasmania has collapsed.

This appears to confirm that Tasmania is not sharing in the improvement in the national economy.

In the March 2009 quarter, total private new capital expenditure was $318 million. Just a year later, that figure has dropped by 42% to $185 million for the March 2010 quarter.

The figure declined over 26% from the December 2009 quarter alone.

Less investment means fewer jobs, it's that simple.

The uncertainty created by the new Labor-Green Government combined with the lack of an investment attraction strategy could drive private investment down even further.

Tasmania is facing a looming crisis as the federal stimulus money starts to dry up over the rest of the year. Once the stimulus money leaves the system Tasmania will face the twin problems of plummeting public investment combined with a massive decline in private investment.

The result could be catastrophic with unemployment skyrocketing and the flow on effects impacting on every aspect of the economy - from the housing market to the corner store.

The Treasurer needs to explain exactly how he intends to address this challenge, because he is running out of time.