The Mercury’s recent Brain Drain headline struck a nerve, but at its core it wasn’t news for many Tasmanians.
Those of us who know anyone aged between 16 and 24 have been watching this drift for years with young people looking elsewhere for opportunity, and increasingly, their parents following them. The result? Fewer reasons to return, and a quieter, older future if we don’t act.
This is more than a demographic trend. It’s a reflection of the choices we make for our state’s future. And it’s a key reason the Committee for Greater Hobart was created. Two years on from our official launch, we have made inroads into turning this ship around. But a lot more needs to be done, and that’s where our focus lies for the future.
On ABC Radio Mornings after the Brain Drain headline, economist Saul Eslake made two important points.
First, that island communities have always seen people come and go. Leaving to learn, grow, and explore the world is part of the rhythm of island life — and often healthy.
But Saul’s second point was more sobering. Tasmania’s changes in fortune have rarely come through good management, but through good luck.
What if this time we decided to change that and to build our next chapter through design, not drift?
Demographer Lisa Denny has been telling this story for years. The numbers are familiar: a shrinking youth cohort, an ageing population, and the long shadow that casts over our economy and social fabric.
But as Lisa reminds us, demographics are not a prediction of the future, they’re a record of the past. What we choose to do now will shape what those numbers mean in a decade’s time.
At the Committee for Greater Hobart, this has been a central question since day one. Two years ago, just before our official launch, we gathered a diverse group of young Tasmanians to help set our agenda. Their message was clear: stop talking about us, and start planning with us.
That’s the spirit we need across every generation and every community. Because this isn’t just about youth. It’s about intergenerational agency. We need to create the structures, trust and opportunity for people of all ages, backgrounds, and lived experiences to help steer our collective future.
When we invite diverse voices to the table we don’t just enrich our democracy, we make better decisions. But this requires something we often avoid as a community – getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Real listening means being challenged. It means hearing that what works for us might not work for others. It means rethinking what we measure, what we value, and who gets to decide.
That’s why the recent announcement from TasTAFE to remove subsidies from 12 key courses, including laboratory technology, design, media, and creative industries, feels like a step backwards.
These aren’t indulgences; they’re investments in the infrastructure of the future. Laboratory technology underpins everything from health and science to industry. Design, creativity, and media are not fringe subjects, they’re central to our identity and economic growth.
There is no question Tasmania absolutely needs more builders, plumbers, electricians, and engineers. We need a strong construction industry that provides stable, well-paid careers that deliver innovative solutions to tackle the housing and infrastructure challenges ahead.
But we also need equity of access and to celebrate the critical skills that tell our stories, power our innovation, and bring our places and communities to life. A healthy, resilient place invests in both the trades that build our foundations, and the creative, scientific, and cultural skills that shape who we are.
And the timing of this announcement could not be starker. Just as Hobart prepares to celebrate one of the most significant private investments in its modern history, the opening of Procreate’s new global headquarters by year’s end, we are devaluing the very pipelines that feed creative and technical talent.
Procreate is a Tasmanian success story that has gone global – a company built on creativity, innovation, and talent grown right here. Its expansion should be a moment of immense pride, and a blueprint for what’s possible.
But if we’re cutting the education and training pathways that nurture the next generation of designers, developers, illustrators and lab technicians, we’re cheering the harvest while bulldozing the field.
We need to stop treating creativity as a luxury and start recognising it as infrastructure that is just as vital as roads, ports, or broadband.
Creative industries generate jobs, drive innovation, and make our cities magnetic. They’re also the glue of community life that connects people, ideas, and place. Vibrancy is not an afterthought; it’s a precondition for a thriving economy and a cohesive society.
Tasmania has already proven it can lead the world in creativity. From MONA to Procreate, from local festivals to community arts initiatives, we have a global reputation for innovation born from place.
When we defund creative education, we’re not saving money. We’re quietly dismantling the foundation of our competitive advantage.
Now we need to build the ecosystem that sustains it through education, opportunity, and genuine agency for the people who will inherit this island.
Tasmania is one of the best places in the world to live. But we must make it one of the best places to thrive.
That means more than lifestyle. It means ambition, opportunity, and vibrancy. The chance to do great work, build great things, and live a life of purpose here.
Vibrancy isn’t a by-product; it’s a precondition. It’s the music, art, science, sport, festivals, and ideas that make people feel connected and inspired. It’s what makes people want to stay.
We need ambition to innovate, to try new things, to create jobs and industries that challenge and excite. It means ensuring every young Tasmanian, every migrant, every parent, every worker and retiree feels they can shape the future.
And it means courage to listen deeply, to be challenged, to be uncomfortable, and to act.
If we can build a state that gives every generation a voice, values creativity as infrastructure, and plans our prosperity rather than waiting for luck, we create a Tasmania that draws talent in, keeps it growing, and sends it back out into the world to carry our story forward.
Cam Crawford is Chief Executive of the Committee for Greater Hobart
