Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Core promises indeed. Well, there are only promises; you do not need core and non-core. It has been redefined in the past but we have now corrected it.

I would like to work through some of these projects, if I may. In relation to the creation of jobs, we have had a commitment of $12 million to an Enterprise Connect centre. It is to be located in my region and will work and operate for the whole of Tasmania. Likewise there has been a $1.2 million commitment to business and employment located in Devonport for state-wide initiatives, particularly to help small business.

In terms of infrastructure there is $500,000 for the Oakleigh Park overpass at Burnie; $2 million for the Formby Road in Devonport; $1 million for Port Sorrell Main Road, in the eastern part of my electorate; $700,000 for the King Island freight equalisation scheme, which is so important in terms of intrastate recognition and support; and $30 million has been committed to a rail upgrade between Burnie and Wiltshire in Circular Head.

In terms of tourism, $12 million has been allocated to the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme. The subsidy has been increased from about $168 to $180 to help all those people who want to visit Tasmania, particularly in the near future. There is $185,000 for the Table Cape Lighthouse tourism project in Wynyard and $175,000 for the King Island food and recreation trail project.

In the area of health, there is $7.7 million for a new cancer treatment unit, with a preference for it to be located in the north-west and/or the north. There is $10 million for better patient transport, with a focus on the north-west coast; up to $5 million for a GP super clinic in Devonport and up to $2.5 million for a GP after-hours clinic in Burnie. There is $1.25 million for the Sisters of Charity in Devonport to continue their excellent work in trauma counselling, which they offer to the whole of the state. Remember, many of these are services which will be provided to the whole of Tasmania. There is $60,000 for the Penguin Medical Centre, and there will be a specialised autism centre based in the north-west, servicing Tasmania, and a Medicare licence for the MRI machine at the North West Regional Hospital. Also, of course, infamously, there will be federal funding for the Mersey Community Hospital.

In terms of community infrastructure there is $3 million for the Burnie Waterfront and Cultural Precinct, which is to get underway very soon; $1.8 million for the Ulverstone wharf and showground; $1 million for the Mersey Bluff in Devonport, $200,000 for St Brigids Hall in Wynyard; and $300,000 to assist the King Island community to receive a basic digital television service. There is $750,000 for the Ulverstone to Turners Beach pathway; $125,000 for the Somerset Sharks Soccer Club, $720,000 for the Circular Head Community and Recreation Centre; $30,000 for the Circular Head Little Athletics Centre; and $200,000 for the Port Sorell Surf Life Saving Club extension.

I am very proud to have put that on the public record. It may seem a lot, and indeed it is a lot, but that is the result of communities who lobbied long and hard. They were listened to very carefully when we were in opposition. The projects were all put together in packages and I am very pleased to say that they were delivered in this first budget. It is interesting that promises were made and they were delivered in our first budget in this term of government. I look forward to working with the minister at the table, Brendan O’Connor, and many others to deliver these important projects to a beautiful part of Australia, the north-west coast of Tasmania and King Island. I am very pleased to represent it.

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