POLICY WATCH: TICT’S FEDERAL ELECTION WISH LIST

POLICY WATCH: EYES TURN TO FEDERAL ELECTION

Spirit of Tasmania. Photo credit: Sean Scott

Afederal election is due anytime between now and May, with all the pundits expecting we’ll all be rolling up to our local primary school for a democracy sausage some Saturday in either March or May.

As always, Tasmania can expect more than our fair share of election attention over the next few months. The northern seat of Bass was decided by a mere 300 votes at the 2018 poll, so it will be among the most hotlycontested seats in the country. Braddon, the electorate of the North-West and West Coasts, along with the sprawling seat of Lyons, that covers nearly 60 percent of the island, are both considered marginal, meaning locals can expect a regular stream of visiting federal ministers and their opposition counterparts once our borders re-open. Tourism always features prominently in federal election campaigns in Tasmania; such is the importance of the visitor economy to the state, and especially the regional communities that make up those marginal electorate. Tourism announcements also make good media events in an election campaign and are usually broadly supported by the public. Over recent federal elections

we’ve seen high-profile commitments made at the height of the election campaign to some notable Tasmanian tourist attractions. Some of these commitments have delivered great outcomes for the industry, such as the upgrade to Woolmers Visitor Centre and federal funding to help upgrade visitor infrastructure at Freycinet and Cradle Mountain, along with expanding the Hobart Airport runway. Others made for great pictures on the TV news but, alas, that’s all they delivered. Who could forget Tony Abbott’s Cadbury Visitor Centre announcement, and we can only dare to imagine what could now be, had a promise to help fast-track MONA’s next development been announced by the party that went on to win the last election. Such is the way with robust election campaigns in Australia! In this election, however, when everything we are trying to do is so focused on rebuilding out of COVID, every promise made in the tourism space is a crucial opportunity for a strategic investment in that recovery. TICT is working with tourism operators and Regional Tourism Organisations in identifying what we believe are the game changing opportunities for tourism that any side of politics could get behind in the forthcoming election campaign. Headlining our ‘wish list’ will be the reintroduction of the ‘Free Car Fares’ initiative that was so successful in stimulating demand on the Spirit of Tasmania ships over the first half of 2021.

The Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme (BSPVES) was first introduced by John Howard in 1996 on the simple principle that it should cost the same to take your vehicle across Bass Strait as it does to drive a similar distance anywhere else in the country on the Australian Government funded National Highway Network. The scheme is a payment paid by the Australian Government to TT Line for every vehicle they carry on the Spirit of Tasmania. For several years the BSPVES was not indexed, meaning it has lost some of its relative value, and we all know it costs much more now to put your car on the Spirits than it would to drive between, say, Melbourne and Adelaide. As a COVID recovery measure, TICT lobbied the Australian Government to elevate the BSPVES to restore its true value, and reduce the cost of travelling to Tasmania by sea. The $6 million ‘Free Car Fares’ Initiative that ran from February to June this year was instrumental in the surge of visitor activity we saw over the first half of 2021 until the borders again closed with Victoria and NSW. We know sea arrivals surged, boosting our regional destinations, and the Spirit of Tasmania was able to meet demand with increased daytime sailings.

Hartz Peak Walk, Hartz Mountains National Park. Photo credit: Stu Gibson

West Coast Wilderness Railway. Photo credit: Ollie Khedun

We are certain the same thing will happen if the BSPVES was increased again, and we were able to offer ‘Free Car Fares’ across Bass Strait in 2022. But beyond reducing the cost of Bass Strait there are other opportunities right across the state for parties vying for your vote to make strategic investments in our visitor economy. The Northern Tasmanian tourism industry is drawn to the vision of establishing Launceston as Australia’s premier regional events destination. Major events and high participation events are proven tourism winners, especially in addressing seasonality.

An artistsimpression of the new UTAS Stadium proposal

Don River Railway. Photo credit: Tourism Australia & Graham Freeman

For Northern Tasmania to realise this vision, it needs quality events infrastructure. We’re right behind the plan to upgrade and expand University of Tasmania Stadium, while adding a new indoor sporting venue next door. This will establish the best sporting infrastructure in any regional city in Australia, in the centre of Launceston. In the south, we want to see a big commitment to science – not tourism! A new CSIRO as the centrepiece of the proposed Antarctic Precinct at Macquarie Point will not only consolidate Tasmania’s status as an Antarctic research hub but will also free up the CSIRO’s current site on the amazing headlands at the end of Castray Esplanade. This is the site that has enormous tourism potential, extending Salamanca to the water edge and Battery Point to the city. On the North-West coast, the local industry is rallying behind Devonport’s iconic Don River Railway and a new demand-driving attraction for the Far North West. Both these destinations desperately need new attractions, and federal support could be transformative for the whole region. On the East Coast it’s all about upgrading the Tasman Highway, and on the West Coast we need to support the icons that underpin the region’s visitor economy. Listing the West Coast Wilderness Railway on the National Heritage List will secure the Railway for generations to come, while recognising this West Coast icon as one of Australia’s finest examples of industrial heritage. Finally, more funding for our National Parks is always a smart investment for any would-be government. New and upgraded walks across the state are demand drivers for regional destinations, while further Australian Government funding for the Parks and Wildlife Service will support conservation, fire management and priority infrastructure projects.

These are our key priorities in the election, and over coming months we’ll be talking to politicians on all sides of the fence about these projects, and the opportunity they have in this election to invest in Tasmania’s tourism resurgence.

Luke Martin