From this week Tasmanian businesses will benefit from a 25 per cent increase to financial assistance as the Australian Government delivers on a key election commitment to boost the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES).
The scheme recognises the island state’s reliance on shipping across Bass Strait, and supports Tasmanian shippers to move a range of non-bulk goods by sea, including those used in manufacturing, mining, agriculture, forestry, fishing and other significant local industries.
Tasmanian businesses will now get higher assistance rates from the Government of up to $1,070 per TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit, a standard-sized shipping container) under the scheme’s domestic component.
For goods being shipped from Tasmania to the world and being transferred from one ship to another at mainland ports in the process, the flat rate of assistance will increase to $875 per TEU. The same rate will apply to international goods being imported to Tasmania via a mainland port.
TFES was introduced in 1976 by the Whitlam Government and was expanded to include the Bass Strait islands in 2008.
As the scheme nears the end of its fifth decade in operation, the Australian Government has also committed to commissioning a comprehensive review of TFES to ensure it continues to support Tasmanian businesses into the future.
The review, which will be undertaken this year, will consider whether TFES remains fit-for-purpose and address other recommendations from last year’s Senate Select Committee inquiry.
“We can’t build a bridge between Tasmania and the mainland, so this scheme is our way to ensure Tassie industries are just as competitive as their mainland partners and can export their products to the rest of the world,” Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, says.
“This additional $95 million investment will mean more Tassie timber building homes in Sydney, more fish on plates in Melbourne and more metals and resources crossing the Strait, without Tassie business being financially penalised by distance.”
Further information on the scheme is available here.