Investing in a Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Tasmania – Submission to PESRAC

This submission to the Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council’s (PESRAC) second and final phase of its terms of reference to provide advice to the Tasmanian government on strategies and initiatives to support the state’s short to medium, and longer-term recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, recognises the Council’s current focus is upon practical measures to be delivered over a two-to-five year timeframe.

Recommendations

That the Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council’s (PESRAC) two-to-five year COVID-19 pandemic economic and social recovery plan:

1. Presents, or reiterates the need for government to develop and present, a clearly articulated vision for a resilient, inclusive and sustainable Tasmania that has addressing intergenerational disadvantage at its core
2. Identifies the need for a Pandemic Recovery Action Plan to invest in community resilience building by identifying and addressing key societal structural fault-lines
3. Includes a clear Pandemic Recovery Action Plan Implementation Criteria and Evaluation Matrix
4. gnises that for many Tasmanians, pre-COVID conditions were not working for them, with many struggling with entrenched inequalities and intergenerational disadvantage
5. Recognises that a key component of any successful immediate, interim and long-term recovery plan is a clear vision statement reinforcing the key principles of inclusivity for all, equity, resilience and sustainability, as fundamental goals which we cannot afford to compromise upon.
6. Provides a clear transition plan that maps out the recovery trajectory, that systematically both identifies key fault-lines, and details disadvantage and inequalities remedial action. There needs to be a clear articulation of the trajectory of, and linkages between, Tasmania’s initial response, post-pandemic recovery and long-term regeneration.
7. Recognises the need to decouple Tasmania’s long-term recovery from a solely twentieth century ‘bricks and mortar’ reliance, and prioritises emerging innovative sectors, including digital communications, renewables, and flexible service delivery compatible with a zero-carbon and circular economy.

Read Meg’s complete submission below.