A re-elected majority Liberal Government will strengthen our Buy Local Policy, supporting Tasmanian businesses to invest in the economy and hire more staff.

The Buy Local Policy is a Liberal Government initiative that was introduced in 2014 to increase opportunities for Tasmanian businesses and suppliers to secure government contracts.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the policy has been a major success, with more than 81.5 per cent of contracts awarded by the Tasmanian Government in an open procurement process greater than $50,000 during 2022-23 won by Tasmanian businesses.

“These contracts injected a substantial $918.2 million into the local economy, compared to just $39.6 million when we came into Government in 2014,” Premier Rockliff said.

“A re-elected majority Liberal Government will elevate our Buy Local Policy by increasing the weighting in competitive procurement processes of the Economic and Social Benefit Test to 30 per cent of the total evaluation criteria.

“This forward-thinking approach is about putting Tasmanian businesses at the forefront, ensuring economic and social factors are at the core of considerations in government procurement decisions.

“The Liberals are the strongest supporters of Tasmanian businesses and that’s why we will also update our procurement practices to ensure they match business needs and capacity.”

A re-elected majority Liberal Government will also stimulate economic growth by increasing the capacity to invest in Tasmanian projects through the Tasmanian Development Board.

“We will also boost the Tasmanian Development Board’s ability to co-invest in projects by lifting the current limit of $10 million to $35 million.

“Expanding the Tasmanian Development Board’s co-investment capacity is about ensuring Tasmania can secure more job creating economic development projects in areas such as advanced manufacturing, sustainable energy and manufacturing, renewable energy, tourism, technology and research, food production and international education,” Premier Rockliff said.

“Only a Liberal Government knows the importance of a strong and certain investment environment.

“Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, we will slash red tape, create jobs and keep our economy strong.”

Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania's Future, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will:

• Enhance our Buy Local policy to support more Tasmanian businesses by lifting the local weighting test from 25 per cent to 30 per cent;
• Stimulate economic growth by growing the capacity to invest in Tasmanian projects through the Tasmanian Development Board;
• Invest in and help commercialize Tasmanian projects and products; and
• Slash red tape by introducing a single form tendering process for small businesses for projects valued up to $250,000.