King Island olive branch

Freight problem remains hot topic

THE State Government will extend an olive branch to frustrated King Island residents in today’s Budget, but the bigticket item they desperately want will remain unfunded.

The island community wants a dedicated freight service to supply basic goods and export its prime produce to mainland Australia.

So great is its need, that some residents were last week pushing to secede from Tasmania and become part of Victoria in order to get a “fair go”.

Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff has told the Mercury that a solution to the island’s freight and transport woes — a purpose built ship to conduct triangular sailings between Tasmania’s mainland, King Island and Melbourne — was still being investigated.

There is no dedicated funding on the table for a new ship, but the community has been offered a Budget package tackling education, biosecurity and agricultural issues.

There is also an additional $200,000 over four years to increase Parks and Wildlife staff on the island and an extra $650,000 over the forward estimates to secure the island’s wallaby and biosecurity officer.

“These vital positions are currently fixed-term and making them permanent adds certainty for the entire farming community,” Mr Rockliff said.

There is also money for a school health nurse for the island’s only school and more professional support staff.

There has been $40,000 allocated for barbecue shelters at Pennys Lagoon, $600,000 for car parking and traffic management at the school and $10,000 for Phoenix House to continue its community work.

The funding announcements come on top of money already pledged to help the King Island Council develop a planning master plan for the development of a master plan for Currie, Naracoopa and Grassy in light of the surge in golf tourism, $25,000 to develop a deer management plan and $50,000 to conduct a business case for a multi-species abattoir.