Media Release

Peter Gutwein MP
Liberal Member for Bass

Friday 22nd January 2010

Action Plan required urgently for Flinders shipping

Liberal Member for Bass Peter Gutwein said today that it was vitally important that hapless Infrastructure Minister Graeme Sturges developed and outlined both his immediate and longer term plan for Flinders Island Shipping.

An immediate short term solution is required that takes into account the increasing stock and general freight movements that will be required over the next few weeks and months.

There is also a need for a longer term solution to be agreed upon, and how that can best be formulated so that the difficulties of the past are not repeated.

The Minister must immediately conduct an assessment - with the assistance of Flinders Island council - to understand the volume of freight and numbers of stock that need to be moved in the immediate future, and the capacity of the remaining shipping services to carry this freight.

The Government is now saving $250,000 a year from the voided contract with Southern Shipping, and some of this money should now be used for this assessment, and to ensure that freight services to and from the Island are organised in the most efficient way.

This assessment will serve to inform whether there is a need to get one or both of the Southern Shipping vessels back into survey - obviously subject to agreement from the receivers.

Steps also need to be taken to ensure that a longer term strategic plan is put in place with the Flinders Island Council to ensure that the debacle of the last few years is not repeated. The Tasmanian Liberals have today written to Flinders Island Council on this matter.

The Minister cannot continue to remain hands-off on this issue.

Mr Sturges must ensure that Flinders Island suffers no further economic damage as a result of his inaction.