The 2024 Tasmanian State Election comes at a pivotal juncture in our state’s history. Tasmanians who have been skipping meals, missing medical appointments and going into debt to afford rent, energy and other essentials, are telling us that they can’t take the hits any longer.
“It’s surviving, not living,” said one focus group member.
Irrespective of who forms government in the next Parliament, Tasmanians expect so much more than glossy documents and one-off, band-aid solutions. We need all parties and candidates to think big with ambitious policy, grounded in evidence, which addresses the long-term, structural causes of poverty and inequality, and thereby enables thousands more Tasmanians to participate in employment, education and training, social and caring activities.
TasCOSS’s 2024 Tasmanian State Election Priorities (PDF, 3.24MB) focusses on policy solutions and investments across six key areas that will provide Tasmanians with much-needed, targeted cost of living relief, and ensure a well-resourced community services industry that can meet increasing levels of need and complexity in the community.
These asks, if adopted, will also build our resilience to future challenges, our capacity to participate and thrive, and lay the foundations for improving our health and wellbeing.
TasCOSS’s six election priorities:
- Reducing homelessness and providing better protections for renters.
- Bringing down energy costs by extending energy bill relief, improving access to the electricity concession and accelerating household energy efficiency.
- Improving food security and nutrition through expanded access to emergency food relief and initiatives to increase community food resilience.
- Improving affordability and access to public transport across Tasmania.
- Rapidly closing the digital divide in Tasmania and improving digital inclusion through a focus on access, affordability and digital ability.
- Ensuring Tasmanians have the support they need, when they need it, by investing in Tasmania’s community services industry.
For more information and specific asks, please refer to TasCOSS’s 2024 Tasmanian State Election Priorities (PDF, 3.24MB).