Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

As the honourable senator would know or indeed should know, this is a report to government, not a report of or from the government. The government made it perfectly clear that it was absolutely committed to the maintenance of the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme and the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme. The first scheme was introduced under the Fraser government, the second scheme under the Howard government. Coalition governments are very proud of those initiatives and this successor coalition government is similarly proud of those initiatives. What we want to do is to ensure that those schemes work to the maximum benefit of the Tasmanian economy. That is why we commissioned the review. We are now considering the review's proposals but I assure Senator Urquhart and indeed all Tasmanians that the government is absolutely committed to the scheme.

In relation to the last scheme to which the honourable senator referred, the Tasmanian Wheat Freight Scheme, that is a scheme that has fallen into disrepair by non-usage over the last two years, if I recall correctly, because most of the wheat is no longer being taken to Tasmania by bulk but in containers and it therefore falls under the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme. In those circumstances, and the government has not fully determined its position, if a scheme is no longer being used, having been superseded by a newer scheme, namely the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme, there may possibly be an argument for it to no longer continue because nobody is using it anyway. Having said all that, we are absolutely committed to the Freight Equalisation Scheme and the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme.