Mar 9, 2024
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will get Tasmanians home to their loved ones safer and sooner as part of our 2030 Strong Plan to build better roads across the State.
Premier, Jeremy Rockliff, said Tasmania’s increasing population, strong economy and prudent budget means we can upgrade more roads and bridges for Tasmanians living in the North.
“We’ve come a long way over the past 10 years, investing $2.2 billion to improve our roads, but we know there’s more to do,” he said.
“Tasmania has gone through a significant period of population and economic growth over the past decade, which has put pressure on our roads and bridges infrastructure.
“Our significant 2030 Strong Plan Roads and Bridges package will see new works commence under a re-elected majority Liberal Government, including:
- $80 million towards the construction of a new bridge across the Tamar River between Riverside and University Way at Newnham;
- $20 million towards the duplication of the Bass Highway into a consistent four-lane link between Launceston and Deloraine;
- $20 million for upgrades to the East Tamar Highway, including additional overtaking lanes, road-widening, intersection improvements and duplication of sections to two lanes in each direction;
- $20 million to upgrade the West Tamar Highway, completing the Legana duplication and associated works, and the Legana to Beauty Point section of the highway; and
- $5 million to upgrade Bridport Road.
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Michael Ferguson, said that the Tasmanian Government had completed a business case for the construction of a second Tamar River crossing between the West Tamar Highway, to secure the necessary investment from the Australian Government to ensure this project proceeds.
“This strong commitment is in stark contrast to Labor, which has continually fought against this project for the people of Launceston, including through the 2021 election campaign when they thoroughly rejected the project,” the Minister said.
“The business case will be subject to a full and open public consultation on the potential preferred location and alignment.”
The 2030 Strong Plan package is in addition to road upgrades currently underway across the North, including the:
- $565 million Midland Highway 10-year Action Plan;
- $120 million Sideling Stage 1 upgrades and improvements, along the section of the Tasman Highway between Scottsdale and Launceston;
- $84 million East and West Tamar Highway upgrades and duplication between Freshwater Point Road and Acropolis Drive;
- $75 million Launceston and Tamar Valley traffic vision;
- $54 million Northern Regional State Roads upgrades for west of the Batman Bridge, Birralee Road and the eastern portion of Frankford Road; and
- Upgrades to Illawarra Road between Springfield to the Bass Highway.
“Only a re-elected majority Liberal Government with our 2030 Strong Plan will deliver safer and more efficient roads for all Tasmanians.”
Click here to see full policy detail on Liberal Party website.
Click here to see other Liberal policies for the 2024 State election.
Mar 7, 2024
A re-elected majority Liberal Tasmanian Government will introduce much tougher new laws to fix the growing problem of abandoned and derelict vessels as part of its 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s future.
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Feb 21, 2024
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will halve bus fares as part of our plan to reduce cost of living pressures. Under our plan, bus fares on Metro and rural routes will be cut in half from 1 June this year, to 30 June 2025.
School buses, general access buses, ferries across all fare types including adults, students and concession passengers will benefit from this measure. This will make a real hip-pocket difference to hundreds of thousands of Tasmanians. Under our commitment, a typical Metro fare will halve from $3.50 to $1.75. This means a Tasmanian who catches a bus to and from work every day of the working week will save $17.50 a week.
That saving is even bigger for regional Tasmanians. The bus fare from Smithton to Burnie halves from $16 to $8 and Hobart to Huonville goes down to just $4.40.
We know that every dollar counts, and that’s why we are taking immediate action to provide cost of living support to all Tasmanians. The measure will also increase public transport patronage, including encouraging more people to use public transport for the first time, boosting mode-shift which reduces congestion on our roads. Every person who takes a bus is potentially a vehicle off the road network, whether that’s on the Tasman Bridge or Wellington St in Launceston.
Another key improvement for our public transport network will be the introduction of a common ticketing system later this year, enabling one transaction per passenger travelling between rural areas and the Metro network. This new system will include real time monitoring of bus services enabling passengers to track their bus arrival times and plan for more time at home and less time at the bus stop.
Feb 15, 2024
Thank you for the honour to represent and work for you. As your local Liberal member for Bass in the Tasmanian Parliament since 2010, I have worked very hard each and every day to make a real difference.
I am honoured that you have elected me from your ballot paper at each election over these past 14 years. It’s allowed me to take on various portfolios – including now as Treasurer and Deputy Premier – in addition to helping you with the hundreds of issues in our beautiful electorate of Bass. I love our State and I love our people – and I’m determined to continue to deliver our Strong Plan to address the important issues.
Together, as a Liberal Government, we have achieved great things for the people of our state. Since we took over from the disastrous Labor-Green era, we have gone from the worst-performing state to the best-performing state on most economic measures.
We have delivered historically low unemployment and more than 50,000 new jobs have been created through our time as we foster economic growth and encourage employment.
Construction of the new Bridgewater Bridge is underway, and the first of two new Spirit of Tasmania ferries will soon sail into Devonport.
And we’ve done all this – and much more – while maintaining the lowest debt of all the states, and without introducing any new taxes.
We’ve delivered an additional 298 hospital beds and employed an extra 2500 health professionals including 1390 nurses. We know there’s more work to do and our health system still needs to be better.
Our energy prices are already among the lowest in the country, and our new Renewable Energy Dividend is driving bills lower – but I know we need to do more to support those struggling with the cost-of-living challenge.
And while we’re building a record number of new houses – 3000 delivered since 2019 – for many Tasmanians, their first home lies beyond reach, and rental prices are still too high.
So, we’ve done a lot. But there’s more to do.
That’s why we’ve developed our Strong Plan for Tasmania’s future to address these issues – it’s our 2030 Tasmania Plan, and it’s all about how the Tasmanian government can take more pressure off you.
It’s a Strong Plan which is all about taking more action on the issues affecting us most right now, such as cost of living, health, and housing. I look forward to continuing to support you, the people of Bass, into the future.
Sep 16, 2022
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is leading the nation in the area of gambling harm minimisation and is strengthening measures to further reduce problem gambling.
I am pleased to announce the State Government’s response to the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission’s report into harm minimisation technologies for electronic gaming machines in Tasmanian hotels, clubs and casinos could minimise gambling harm.
We support the Commission’s recommendation to implement a State wide player card gaming system with pre-commitment and cashless gaming. The Government also supports the Commission’s view that facial recognition technology is not an effective tool for wider prevention of harm in gaming venues.
Routine default pre-commitment that applies State-wide in Tasmania is the gold standard of harm minimisation measures. Tasmania is the first State to announce a scheme of this kind.
It will provide those most at risk of gambling harm with protection while having no impact on recreational gamblers.
Players will be able to register for a card at any venue. Cards will have pre-set default limits, that can be lowered by players at any time; or increased within certain parameters. The default limits are:
- $100 per day;
- $500 per month; and
- $5,000 per year.
The impacts from gambling harm are felt across our communities, beyond the immediate impact on an individual and their family. This system will protect people from losing more than they can afford.
In terms of cost, the Government will work with the new Monitoring Operator will provide venues with card-based gaming technology as a fee-based service.
We thank the Commission for the breadth of work conducted for the investigation and extends its appreciation to stakeholders that contributed to the consultation.
The Government looks forward to working with the Commission, gaming venues and the new Monitoring Operator to implement a player card gaming system with pre-commitment by December 2024.
The implementation of a player card gaming system allows the Commission and the Government to review secondary controls. This includes a review of the need for a restriction on the current EGM line limit.
The Government has determined to amend this restriction as pre-commitment will ensure a player stays within the limits of what they can afford regardless of how many lines are played.
Harmonising with other jurisdictions by reverting to 50 lines will support venues in transitioning to the new venue licensing model.
To further assist the transition during 2022-23, the Government is pleased to announce funding of $268,000 for the Tasmanian Hospitality Association to deliver industry support and training.
Jul 18, 2022
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is transforming Tasmania’s economy through a range of initiatives to develop and build the State.
We know that civil construction skilled workers are right now in high demand across Australia with the historically high construction activity to be the new normal for years to come.
Construction projects are growing in complexity and there are challenges in delivering our $5.6 billion infrastructure program in the available skills and expertise to meet these targets. That is why we have backed our ambitious infrastructure program with the $9 million High Vis Army, in an effort to grow the industry workforce by 25 per cent to meet these challenges.
The Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) is inviting people working in the civil industry to this week find out more about the High Vis Army project.
It’s an initiative of ours that is being rolled out in partnership with a number of organisations, including the Master Builder’s Tasmania, the Housing Industry and Civil Contractors Federation.
CCF Interim CEO, Phil Sidney, said the High Vis Army project was vital for the sector.
“The Government has listened to our industry and has committed to the most ambitious infrastructure program in the State’s history,” Mr Sidney said.
“But to turn that vision into reality, we need to grow the size of the civil workforce by 25 per cent. That’s why the High Vis Army policy is vital. It’s giving us the support to take the industry to the next level.
“We want to see people from the civil sector find out more about the opportunities in the industry and how we can all play our part in growing the industry. It’s also a great chance for people working in the industry to catch up with each other during what has been a very busy period.”
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is delivering opportunities to bolster the workforce and provide additional skills and training that will attract and retain more workers to the industry to help strengthen Tasmania’s future.
