Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Protect jobs on the West Coast and support workers.
- Back the West Coast so they can grow their economy and create jobs.
An important part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania's Future is to back our local communities so they can grow their economies, create jobs and so Tasmanians can work and raise their families and live in our regions.
A Liberal Government will always do everything to protect jobs on the West Coast and to support workers.
But we know more needs to be done to support the West Coast. That's why we have signed a Strategic Regional Partnership to work together to meet the unique needs of the West Coast.
Western Tasmania Strategic Regional Partnership
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will invest $5 million over the first three years into key initiatives identified as part of the Western Tasmania Strategic Regional Partnership, with other priorities to be identified during a 10-year partnership. They include:
- Providing $3 million for a Key Worker Accommodation Pilot, Key Homes.
The investment will help unlock essential housing for health workers, tourism and hospitality workers, and industry workers to meet demand. Key Homes will be developed in partnership with Homes Tasmania, Bank of Us and the Western Tasmania Strategic Regional Partnership. The Key Homes Pilot will be provided to Government by the end of 2024, and will include options to incentivise investors and to overcome the challenges of construction on the West Coast. - Investing $2 million into a new $3 million Rosebery Emergency Services Hub.
With $1 million already committed to a new police station, we will invest an additional $2 million to build a new contemporary and fit-for-purpose Hub for police, fire and the State Emergency Service for our emergency services workers. - Appointing a direct contact in government to work with the Western Tasmania Strategic Regional Partnership.
More health services
To continue to improve health services on the West Coast, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Provide virtual health (telehealth) infrastructure upgrades at the West Coast District Hospital. We will also provide access by District Hospital staff to immediate support from specialist doctors through MyEmergency Doctor. This new telehealth infrastructure will assist West Coasters attend outpatient appointments with a hospital specialist without having to travel into the cities.
- Recruit two community paramedics to be attached to the West Coast District Hospital at Queenstown to respond to both non-emergency Triple Zero calls in the local community, or treat minor illnesses and injury presenting to the hospital. Community paramedics are intensively trained paramedics and will have access to MyEmergency Doctor in attending patients if needed.
- Continue our partnership with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to fund regional dental services on the West Coast, over the next four years.
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will continue to lobby the Labor Australian Government for more aged care beds on the West Coast, including exploring partnership opportunities with the Australian Government on the capital infrastructure needed prior to the Australian Government agreeing to more aged care beds.
Within the first 100 days of a re-elected majority Liberal Government, we will work with the West Coast Council on their plan to adapt the Rosebery Health Centre to deliver more outreach home and community-based health services across the area.
Attract more teachers and early childhood educators
The Tasmanian Liberals remain committed to providing additional incentives for teachers to work on the West Coast in line with our commitment in the 2022-23 Budget which included:
- A settling-in payment of $5,000 in addition to paying all relocation expenses.
- Additional payments starting at $2,759 upon commencement of permanent employment and another payment after one, two and three years of continuous employment that increases to $5,523 upon completing four, five and six years of continued service.
- Pay only $10 per week for rental accommodation.
- Receive paid time to attend urgent personal business.
- Travel and accommodation allowance for specialist medical appointments.
To grow the early childhood workforce, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will also provide a $2500 incentive for early childhood educators to relocate to the West Coast, as well as additional bonus of $2500 if the worker remains in that job on the West Coast after a three-year period, plus $2500 for every year after that, up to six years.
Back in our mining industry
Mining is the lifeblood of the West Coast and a re-elected majority Liberal Government will work to secure this position. Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, we will:
- Provide $3 million to supercharge our Critical Minerals Strategy, to best position our State to identify resources, drive private investment and grow jobs especially on the West Coast. Funding will support the provision of geological data to support exploration, seed funding for processing and other improvements to extract critical minerals from existing operations.
- Complete a Business Case for on-island value adding for critical mineral processing and refinement options.
- Investigate options for processing of significant waste piles of slag to turn into minerals for our future needs, with the growing demand of critical minerals. We will support industry to re-examine tailings and older mining waste piles for by-products of production, such as cadmium and other expensive rare earths for export or processing.
- Incentivise the extraction of new value from legacy and historic mines, with interest shown in historic workings at Renison and Mt Lyell with improved mineral processing technology and practices. We will structure a fixed-term royalty rebate scheme to incentivise the re-processing of historic tailings and re-commencement of mining operations at legacy sites where an environmental benefit can be demonstrated.
- Provide $1.5 million to extend our co-funded Exploration Drilling Grants Initiative to 2028, supporting continued investment and ensuring a pipeline of future mining projects to support jobs.
- Continue to stand up for Mt Lyell. The Liberals have steadfastly supported the reopening of the mine with $9.5 million to undertake the works needed to support the reopening of the mine, as well as a $25 million assistance package once mining operations recommence. This support remains available to a new owner, and we will make legislative changes as required and in the State’s interest, to support the reopening.
Keep our forest industry strong
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will ensure Tasmania’s native forest industry is sustainable, renewable and world-leading. We will:
- Make available up to 40,000 hectares of the Future Potential Production Forest “wood bank” and within 100 days of re-election, commence this process as outlined in Section 7 of the Rebuilding the Forest Industry Act 2014, working closely with industry to implement the process of unlocking.
- Make available an additional wood basket of up to 158,000 cubic metres of high quality sawlog to Tasmanian industry – that’s an annual increase of up to 10 per cent - and make this new supply available exclusively to existing Tasmanian customers.
- Support our iconic special species timber sector by investing $100,000 in a demand analysis study to assess the market for special species timbers, working with all key stakeholders, and provide $50,000 for a scoping study into the potential for Huon pine to be salvaged from other areas, including through heli-harvesting, to ensure a future supply of this rare and iconic timber. We will also work with Sustainable Timber Tasmania to audit the Wooden Boat Board Bank stock at Island Specialty Timbers.
- Supercharge our On-Island Processing Program by commiting an additional
$5 million to this program to attract new investment, create regional jobs and further grow the value of the forest industry. - Extend long-term supply contracts, which currently expire in 2027, to 2040 to secure local sawmillers’ futures, and re-write the Sustainable Timber Tasmania’s Ministerial Charter to put Tasmanians first.
Support our world-class salmon industry
The Tasmanian Liberals continue to be the strongest supporter of our salmon industry and the thousands of jobs it underpins across the West Coast.
We unequivocally back salmon farming at Macquarie Harbour and have already called on the Labor Australian Government to make a decision quickly to end the uncertainty they have created. Our submission to the EPBC review clearly argues there is no case for review.
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Provide ongoing support for the salmon industry to continue to operate sustainably in Macquarie Harbour.
- Continue our clear commitment to no moratoriums.
- Agree there will be no arbitrary policy in relation to the phase out of Flow Through Hatcheries - any framework relating to Flow Through Hatcheries will take into consideration the latest technical and science-based expertise and data, with specific details considered through the salmon industry working group process.
- Ensure the financial model will not change, and fee units will not increase beyond reasonable indexation.
- Fully recognise the significant contributions salmon companies already make to local communities when looking at ‘returns to the community’ - there will be no new salmon taxes.
- Agree to work constructively with the salmon industry in progressing the Tasmanian Salmon Plan, which includes reviewing the work plan/program to identify clear priorities and capacity of stakeholders to deliver outcomes. We also support the development of a longer term, holistic Aquaculture vision and strategy.
Make West Coast Roads safer
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Invest $10 million towards improvements on the Murchison and Zeehan Highways including overtaking lanes, heavy vehicle pull-over areas, shoulder-sealing and curve-widening. These Highways, which are crucial links between the mineral rich West Coast and the Port of Burnie, will see projects delivered in stages beginning with the Zeehan Highway between the Murchison Highway and Henty Main Road at Zeehan, followed by stage two upgrades of the Murchison Highway between Argent River/Serpentine Hill and Ring River.
- Invest $10 million towards safety and efficiency improvements to the Ridgley Highway, a key freight and industry route connecting Burnie to the West Coast. Improvements will focus on safety measures through the Ridgley township area, overtaking lanes in both directions north and south of Hampshire, a south-bound overtaking opportunity at Hellyer River and upgrading the intersection with the Murchison Highway.
- Deliver $19 million in improvements to the Lyell Highway between Queenstown and Strahan, including eight stopping bays, four passing lanes, safety barriers and road realignments.
- Make improvements to the Zeehan Highway between Murchison Highway and Henty Main Road.
Energise the West Coast
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Drive new generation through our Hydro Tasmania First directive by abolishing Hydro’s speed limit by lifting the 40MW new generation limit and a new directive that Tasmanian prices and Tasmanian jobs must come first.
- A streamlined investment and approvals pathway for major renewable energy projects, ensuring Tasmania is one of the easiest places to invest in renewable energy projects.
More visitors and events
Tourism, hospitality and local events are an increasingly important part of the West Coast economy. A re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Continue to fund the successful Unconformity Festival at Queenstown beyond its current contract. Negotiations on the next Festival will begin immediately following our re-election. The 2025 Festival is funded already as part of our existing $2.1 million commitment.
- Provide more than $37 million over the next four years to complete the Iconic Walk Project, the multi-day walk (three day, two night) in the Tyndall Ranges, with construction to start mid-2025 subject to all approvals, huts constructed by 2027, bookings opened in 2028, and track completion and opening for the start of 2029.
- Continuation of funding of $150,000 per annum for the West Coast Heritage Centre at Zeehan and, in the first 100 days after re-election, work with the Western Tasmania Strategic Regional Partnership to argue for better regional funding for Tasmania from the Australian Government, including for game-changing projects like the Frontier Experience at Zeehan.
- In the first 100 days, work with the Australian Government and Telstra, to deliver a significant uplift and co-investment in transmission into the network hubs of Queenstown and Mt Read. This will provide a solution to the current constrained network capacity issues in accessing mobile data, for the benefit of the economy and the safety of the West Coast community.
Remediate the Mt Lyell and Queen Rivers
Historic mining practices over the past century has led to environmental damage to the Mt Lyell and Queen Rivers. Funding was secured some time ago to begin rehabilitation from the Australian Government, however this was re-purposed by Federal Labor.
In the first 100 days of a re-elected majority Liberal Government will work alongside the West Coast Council and Western Tasmania Strategic Regional Partnership to request the Australian Government restore the $20 million grant prevoiusly provided to start remediation of the Mt Lyell and Queen Rivers.
Help West Coasters with cost of living pressures
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Provide immediate half price bus fares, including on regional bus routes, applying to all operators of school buses, general access and regional buses, across all fare types from 1 June 2024 until 30 June 2025.
- Deliver a one-off $250 dividend to Tasmanian households for their energy bills, to be credited to Tasmanians this financial year and $300 for small businesses.
- Abolish stamp duty for first home buyers on properties up to $750,000 for two years
Net Cost: $5.6 million - Note: some policies are costed elsewhere