TASMANIA deserves a fair go when it comes to the HMAS Tobruk bid.
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It seems unfair that the state may become the only one in the country not to receive a gifted decommissioned naval vessel from the Commonwealth.
This, despite the fact that Queensland has already received two.
The Commonwealth government wants states and territories now to pay for preparation of vessels for scuttling.
It’s a sudden change of terms that happened to take place before Tasmania received its own dive wreck site.
This makes the matter an issue of equal opportunity.
As Lyons MHR Eric Hutchinson argues, the state should be allowed to get on a level playing field.
It’s not right to expect Tasmania to pay for scuttling, when it hasn’t enjoyed the economic benefits such as those other states have had from their dive wreck sites.
Finances are tight and it is understandable that the federal government wants states to pay.
But let this happen in the future, when Tasmania has received the HMAS Tobruk and is drawing tourists to the East Coast.
The matter is made more important by the situation Break O’Day faces as a municipality.
Its economy needs an injection of confidence like this.
The area is dependent on tourists and needs more opportunities to benefit from the tourism boom that risks being concentrated too much in Hobart and other centres.
A dive site at Skeleton Bay would be 30m deep, far enough down for divers to be unable to fly off the next day.
They’ll stick around and spend more money. The whole state stands to gain, and should get behind Break O’Day Council’s push accordingly.
The Defence Department may see it as a waste of money. Defence Minister Marise Payne might need convincing of the need for Tasmania to receive the ship.
It’s up to not only Mr Hutchinson and Premier Will Hodgman but all Tasmanians to make their thoughts known to the government.
The state may be a lot smaller than its mainland counterparts.
But part of federation is that this should not disadvantage Tasmania in matters like this.
Bring the HMAS Tobruk to Tasmania. The state stands to gain from it more than others.
