Tasmania is on the dawn of a "golden age" on the back of a record infrastructure spend and surpluses for years to come, the state treasurer says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Peter Gutwein on Thursday handed down his first budget of the re-elected Liberal government, committing funding to a host of election promises and $2.6 billion for infrastructure projects.
"(The budget) is framed not just for the next four years, it is framed to lay the foundations for our long-term future," he said, heralding the "record" spend he expects to create 9300 jobs.
"I believe that Tasmania is on the cusp of a golden age.
"We can now leverage the strong financial position that, as a government, we have worked so hard to achieve."
The 2018/19 budget includes a surplus of $161.9 million, and is forecast to be $196.4 million by 2022.
More than $1.1 billion will go toward roads and bridges, including a state contribution of $115 million toward a joint-federal-funded new Bridgewater crossing north of Hobart.
Australia's most ageing population will get more than 450 frontline hospital staff over the next four years, backing up an election pledge to make health a priority.
More than $475 million will be spent on health infrastructure, including hospital upgrades and new ambulances.
However, the underlying net operating balance, which doesn't consider grant payments, is $4.5 million in the red this coming financial year.
There is also uncertainty over ongoing GST funding, which makes up 40 per cent of the state's revenue.
The Productivity Commission on GST carve-up is set to be made public this month.
Mr Gutwein says it will be "business as usual" afterwards.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday said Tasmanians will be "happy" with their share, but the state Labor opposition isn't convinced.
"The budget paper itself acknowledges the GST risk could impact Tasmania from 2020-21 at a time when net cash and investments are forecast to be a wafer thin balance," shadow treasurer Scott Bacon said in a statement.
The state government hopes to get a windfall of more than $20 million from the sale of its heritage-listed treasury building.
In a largely unsurprising budget, education makes up more than a quarter of overall spending, with $192 million allocated for new schools or improvements to existing ones.
As Hobart grapples with a housing shortage, $125 million will be spent on building 1500 new affordable homes.
The state's public sector superannuation liability continues to hurt the bottom line at a cost of $284.5 million next financial year.
The now-defunct pension scheme for workers is expected to hit an unprecedented $7 billion in value in the 2022 forward estimates and remains unfunded.
Under a strong jobs-growth mantra, the government will cut payroll tax for small businesses and provide incentives for companies to move across the Bass Strait.
A new private hospital in Launceston is in the planning stages, but money won't come from state coffers, instead from Calvary Health Care.
There are no flagged jobs cuts, but the government has confirmed it won't budge on a two per cent wage increase policy.
TASMANIAN BUDGET 2018/19 SNAPSHOT
Surplus: $161.9 million
Revenue: $6.22 billion
Expenditure: $6.06 billion
Net Debt (June, 30 2018): $329.6 million
GST Revenue: $2.49 billion
Unemployment: 6 per cent
Growth: 3.25 per cent
Source: 2018/19 Tasmanian budget papers
Australian Associated Press
