Rockliff lies to CEDA business leaders

Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s bad week has gone from bad to worse.

In his State of the State speech to CEDA today he has claimed:

“Unemployment has remained around 4 per cent or lower - near historic lows.  More Tasmanians are in work than ever before.  And workforce participation has trended steadily upward.”

All three points are demonstrably wrong.

Here are the facts:

• Tasmania has recorded the equal highest unemployment rate in the nation 4.8 per cent – significantly above the national rate of 4.3 per cent and the highest it has been since COVID.

• There are 6,600 fewer jobs than when his Government was given confidence on the floor of Parliament in August.  The steepest decline in jobs numbers since the Global Financial Crisis hit.

• Workforce participation is the lowest in the nation and significantly worse than when the Liberals came to power in 2014.

Today’s economic data shows confidence in this Premier is tanking and so is the economy. 

Premier Rockliff has put Eric Abetz in charge of the budget and Tasmanians are already seeing the impact.