Northern Tasmanian chiefs have declared that regardless of the outcome of this coming weekend’s election, the Bass electorate will be a winner.
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The centrepiece pledge from the Labor and Liberal parties has been the promise to deliver $150 million towards the redevelopment of the Inveresk and Burnie campuses, described by Vice Chancellor Peter Rathjen has not only history-making for the university but the state.
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten described the campaign as delivering “a bonanza for Bass” and a pay-off for the hard lobbying by the council for priority project pledges.
“The level of funding commitments we've seen is unprecedented in Northern Tasmania, and we are thrilled that there is now bi-partisan support for the game-changer that is the University of Tasmania Northern expansion,” he said.
“There can be no doubt this is a project that will drive a revitalisation of Launceston, and improve educational attainment outcomes in the North.
“In turn there will be an array of flow-on education, cultural, social and economic benefits that flow from that, long into the future.
“We believe these projects will be a major demand driver for public investment in the city.”
Property Council of Australia state executive director Brian Wightman said the organisation had made it clear from the start of the election campaign that the UTAS expansion and water and sewerage infrastructure had to be funding priorities.
“The significance of these promises should not be underestimated; Bass has certainly been a winner in this election campaign,” he said.
“A regional city such as Launceston city requires significant infrastructure investment to encourage economic growth.”
Launceston Chamber of Commerce executive officer Jan Davis said there were clear advantages in being in a bellwether seat like Bass.
”The challenge will be in whether the detail matches the rhetoric after the election and whether the promises are delivered as we expected they would be,” she said.
Northern Tasmania Development chief executive Maree Tetlow said the region as a whole had been good at articulating projects to political representatives during this election campaign.
“It’s all heading in the right direction but we’ve got to capitalise on that after the election so we can maximise on these promises,” she said.
