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Tasmania
Tasmania is Australia's island state. With an area of 68,300 sqkm and 3,300 km of spectacular coastline, it is roughly the size of Ireland. Tasmania's temperate climate harbours a pristine environment.
Tasmania's spectacular scenery, friendly people and relaxed lifestyle make it a great place to live and visit.
Tasmania offers an enviable lifestyle. It is the smallest Australian state, but it has all of the services and facilities needed to make it a safe and relaxing home.
There are four major population centres - Hobart (Tasmania's Capital City), Launceston, Burnie and Devonport
Situated on the Derwent River, Hobart offers the benefits of city living without the traffic jams, pollution, crime and overcrowding of larger cities. It only takes 15 minutes to drive from the city centre to the airport and 15 minutes to drive from the city centre to the rainforest trails of Mt Wellington. Hobart has Australia's oldest theatre, a world-class concert hall, cinemas, galleries and a thriving arts community.
Tasmania has a strong sporting tradition, with facilities to match, and a dynamic arts culture, extending from live theatre and music to movies and museums and commercial galleries.
Tasmania's economy is small and open, with an industry structure that is broadly similar to that of Australia as a whole. About one half of Tasmania's total production is distributed to the local market, with around 30 per cent being exported to mainland Australia and the remaining 20 per cent being exported overseas. In 2004-05 international exports of goods from Tasmania totalled a record $2,631 million.
This makes Tasmania one of the most export-driven states in Australia on a per capita basis. Japan is the most important export destination followed by the China, the United States and South Korea.
Like most of Australia, Tasmania is experiencing a shortage of skilled employees. As at April 2008 Tasmania's trend unemployment rate hit an all-time record low of 4.2 per cent, the lowest figure since the current Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data series began in 1978. Recent arrivals with skills in shortage in Tasmania have secured work quickly.
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