Only a majority Gutwein Liberal Government has a clear plan to secure Tasmania’s future and invest significantly into the state’s East Coast.

Freycinet National Park is one of the most popular tourism draw cards and we will invest $14 million towards the development of a new Visitor Gateway adjacent to the National Park. This will include a new state of the art Visitor Centre and transport hub, with a shuttle bus service to the Wineglass Bay Car Park to minimise traffic and parking issues.

We will invest $6.8 million for Stage 3 of the Maria Island Re-Discovered project, to improve the experience and amenities for visitors to the island, as well as commercial operators. This will deliver the completion of new waste water treatment facilities, improved electricity infrastructure and heritage building upgrades.

We have a strong record of investing into community safety, and a re-elected majority Gutwein Liberal Government will invest $7.5 million to build a new Police Station at St Helens, while the region’s health system will benefit from a $2.1 million investment over four years to boost the number of permanent paramedics on the East Coast by 40 per cent.

In addition, a $200,000 investment will be provided for upgraded equipment at both St Mary’s Community Health Centre and May Shaw at Swansea, as well as an additional $560,000 for staffing at May Shaw.

We will increase aeromedical support by providing $300,000 for a new helipad for the East Coast, to be located near the St Helens Hospital. While a further investment of $560,000 over four years will be committed for additional staffing at St Helens District Hospital, with $400,000 to be provided for equipment upgrades at the Hospital.

Wielangta Road is a popular forest drive connecting Orford to Kellevie Road and the Arthur Highway, providing a picturesque drive into the East Coast’s tourism hot spots, and we will invest $1 million towards re-surfacing the road as part of our commitment to improve tourism infrastructure.

With more electric vehicles on our roads than ever before, we will deliver $600,000 in grants towards a state-wide electric vehicle charging network in our regions and key tourist destinations, including Bicheno and Triabunna.

To cater for the needs of today’s discerning and well-informed travellers, we will commit $1 million over two years to develop a new Visitor Digital Information Model that is consistent with our existing visitor information centres and easily accessible on all technology channels.

To ensure we consider the challenges and opportunities for tourism in the region we will commit $50,000 towards a master plan to achieve the best outcomes for both locals and visitors.

We will also continue our $30 million investment in the Great Eastern Drive upgrade program. This initiative has been hugely successful since its inception in 2015, contributing to an increase in visitors to the East Coast.

Only a re-elected majority Gutwein Liberal Government has the clear plan to secure and grow our regional economies for the future.