Tasmania’s escalating brain drain is a direct result of Premier Peter Gutwein’s failure to get the basics right and address the fact that more and more Tasmanians are unable to secure a place to live.
Despite Mr Gutwein’s boasts of a booming economy, Tasmania continues to go backwards under the Liberal government.
New ABS data released today shows the population of Tasmanian cities are going backwards as the state loses people to the mainland, predominantly from areas where the cost of putting a roof over your head continues to escalate with rents and house prices increasingly unaffordable.
It seems increasingly clear younger Tasmanians are fleeing the Liberal housing crisis for mainland states.
The ABS data shows the population across key Hobart suburbs declined by 1.8 per cent in 2020/21.
Additionally, the population of Glenorchy declined by 1.3 per cent, Launceston fell by 0.6 per cent, there was a population decline of 0.4 per cent in Devonport and a 0.2 per cent decline in Burnie.
In total, that means more than 2,200 Tasmanians gave up trying to secure housing or jobs in those five council areas at the same time the cost of living continues to spiral under the Liberal Government.
The brain drain from Peter Gutwein’s failure to deliver on the basics will have significant on-going consequences for Tasmania’s economic future.
Shane Broad MP
Shadow Treasurer
