Senator Eric Abetz

The Coalition’s Real Action Plan for Tasmania will support business growth, improve the daily lives of families throughout the state, build vital infrastructure and help local communities.

The Coalition has previously announced policies which will benefit Tasmanians including policies on: agriculture, small business, hospitals, Medicare and medical services, nurses, aged care, seniors, the environment, parental leave and childcare.

The Coalition’s Plan for Real Action for Tasmania amounts to more than $420 million in future commitments.

This is in stark contrast to Labor who have neglected Tasmania over the past three years.  In particular, Tasmania missed out on funding from the $22 billion infrastructure fund.

A Coalition Government will take real action for the benefit of all Tasmanians. It will:

1. Duplicate the Midland Highway

The Coalition will provide $400 million over ten years towards the full duplication of the Midland Highway.

2. Support Tasmanian Tourism

The Coalition will allocate $840,000 for Tasmanian Domestic Tourism Development Grants.

3. Supporting Simplot

The Coalition will provide $3 million to Simplot in North West Tasmania as part of a $15.6 million investment in its Ulverstone plant. The Simplot project has important spin-offs including making natural gas available to residents in Ulverstone and cutting back on carbon pollution through cleaner energy use. The project will also provide greater certainty to vegetable farmers on the North-West Coast.

4. Fund a fully resourced Cancer Services Unit

The Coalition will provide $7 million for the purchase of Burnie Hospital’s new linear accelerator as well as a backup machine, accommodation facilities for remotely located patients and ongoing maintenance.

5. Establish New Headspace Centres

The Coalition will establish dedicated Headspace Centres in Hobart and on the North West Coast, assisting young Tasmanians who suffer mental illness.

6. Establish an Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC)

The Coalition will establish an EPPIC centre to support people of Northern Tasmania. The Centre will provide 24 hour crisis care and ongoing outpatient services.

7. Fund local crime prevention measures

The Coalition will provide $1.17 million for various crime prevention measures including CCTV equipment at Devonport Mall, King Street Devonport, Mowbray, Launceston CBD, Kings Meadows, George Town and the Glenorchy bus interchange.

8. Support disadvantaged youth in Hobart

The Coalition will provide TOOL, a not-for-profit community group based in Hobart, with $120,000 to alleviate the effects of poverty and disadvantage among youth on the Eastern Shore of Hobart.

9. Support a range of local ‘Green Army’ projects

The Coalition will provide $1.25 million for a range of Green Army projects in Tasmania including projects at ‘Wildwood’ on the banks of the Meander River; riparian rehabilitation in the South Esk, Meander, Macquarie and Georges Rivers; works at the Emu Valley Rhododendron Gardens in Burnie; coastal rehabilitation from Bellingham to Low Head; and endangered species protection from Kings Bridge to The Tailrace along the Tamar River, from Kings Bridge to Duck Reach and along the South Esk River, in the area from Corra Linn Recreation Reserve to The Seaport along the North Esk River in Launceston.

10. Clean up the Tamar River

The Coalition will offer matched funding of $2.5 million towards a major dredging programme of the Tamar River.

11. Support Burnie High’s Eco Learning Plaza

The Coalition will provide $400,000 in funding to Burnie High School’s Eco Learning Plaza which educates students and the wider local community on the potential of direct action environmental projects.

12. Support the Bell’s Parade Precinct project

The Coalition will provide $1.2 million towards protecting the wetlands and improving the infrastructure of this historic precinct.

13. Fund a West Lakes recreational fishing strategy

The Coalition will contribute $40,000 and work closely with the West Coast Council to develop this important economic, tourism and recreational project.

14. Fund the Lake Margaret to Cradle Mountain walking track

The Coalition will provide $60,000 towards a Lake Margaret to Cradle Mountain Walking Track.

15. Provide community grants for important local projects

The Coalition will spend more than $2.6 million to support local community and sporting groups across Tasmania with vital infrastructure, equipment and services including projects at Wynyard, Franklin, Circular Head, Latrobe, Scottsdale, Launceston, Rocherlea, Prospect Park, Lauderdale, Hadspen and George Town.