Our Approach to Consultation

Recovery is in all our hands

This is one of the most challenging time Tasmanians have faced together. We have shown strength, resilience, compassion and more. We must continue to work together in new ways so that we can repair the economic and social damage that COVID-19 has inflicted on Tasmania. In this challenge, we will all need to work together - government, business and the community - to build Tasmania’s recovery.

Those new ways mean new ideas, new ways of doing things, new ways of working.

The Premier asked us to bring him options for our future to tackle the impact and maximise the opportunities arising from COVID-19. It’s was not just the voice of the Council he wanted to hear, it’s was the voice of all Tasmanians.

Throughout each phase, our recommendations have been built on what we have heard from Tasmanians through one of the largest listening exercises undertaken in recent years.

During phase one, the focus of the Council’s Interim Report was on immediate actions to commence recovery from COVID-19, and on measures that could be implemented in the short term to respond to some of the economic and social structural changes that the virus and the suppression measures have delivered.

With the completion of the Interim Report in July 2020, the Council moved into its second, and final, phase of its work.

Consistent with its terms of reference, during its second phase, the Council focused on practical ideas for recovery that could be implemented and deliver outcomes within a 2 to 5 year timeframe and which could enable Tasmanians to build their own future as we recover from COVID‑19.

Our approach to consultation

From the very beginning, we recognised that consultation would be critical to understand how COVID-19 may impact our communities over immediate, medium and longer-terms, and to understand the recovery ideas people had to help us all recover from this pandemic, both socially and economically.

Throughout this process, some 3500 Tasmanians have been involved in our consultation processes.

These approaches consisted of:

• a public call for submissions in phase one and two;
• an online recovery form;
• ‘what if COVID …’ workshops;
• regional roundtables; and
• a well-being survey.

We wanted to provide the opportunity for all Tasmanians to provide input on their immediate and longer-term recovery ideas and approaches. We were particularly interested in ideas which could help to empower Tasmanians and Tasmanian organisations to build their own future on the pathway to recovery.

Engagement with the Tasmanian community has helped ensure that our advice and recommendations are community-led, making Tasmania into a stronger, more resilient state. The input we gained through each phase was key in shaping the Council’s recommendations in its reports.

We are confident that our recommendations in each report reflect the priorities that emerged from this comprehensive listening exercise. Again, we would like to thank all those who took their time to provide input.

General correspondence

General comments made to the Council throughout the process will not be published as submissions.

Publishing submissions

As a general rule, the Council will publish all submissions made during phase one and two (unless confidentiality is sought).

View the public submissions.