NATIONAL SEA HIGHWAY

_{PO Box 2073 Caulfield Junction Victoria 3161 Melbourne Australia} 

_{Ph and fax 03 9532 8818}

_{email  peterbrohier@maptag.comau} 

Copyright 2010 P N Brohier

Question given personally to the Prime Minister and Premier of Victoria at the Melbourne Press Club lunches held on the 5th and 6th May 2010

Premier Brumby took the question on notice and promised a response and the Prime Minister handed it to his assistant Andrew who agree to respond.

Why won’t the Federal Government target existing uncapped Federal Bass Strait passenger vehicle and freight equalisation funding to deliver a basic and equitable surface transport link between Victoria and Tasmania?

Federal equalisation funding is mainly serving limited sectional interests within Tasmania and is not driving the whole economies of Victoria and Tasmania.

Bass Strait is not covered by Infrastructure Australia and transport equity and the principle of equal links between states is being ignored.  Appropriate land-based connections are also not covered.

The economic impact of targeting this link can be huge and immediate, and with no shipping capacity constraints.

If it is responsible to drive the economies of all other states by land-based links, why discriminate against Victoria and Tasmania because a water crossing is involved?

The Victorian Government asked for a AusLink connection to Tasmania, and

Prime Ministers Keating and Howard took significant steps to try to deliver interstate transport equity.

Under Rudd Labor “equalisation schemes” are looking more like “subsidies”.

Peter Brohier

Chairman of the former National Sea Highway Committee

 maptag.com.au

Download the video (wmv file 3.1MB)

Download Broadband version of the video (wmv file 20MB)

AFL TASMANIA SENATE HEARINGS  Submissions numbered 1 and 1A, by using the following link: http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/rrat_ctte/afl_tasmania/submissions/sublist.htm and  COASTAL SHIPPING ENQUIRY - HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES submission number 47 and 4 supplementary submissions, including documentary material contained in the last or fourth supplementary submission available from the following link. http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/itrdlg/coastalshipping/subs.htm

For further information click here.