Cities Assistant Minister Angus Taylor says the health of the Tamar River is likely to be a key part of Launceston’s City Deal, along with funding for the University of Tasmania relocation and the City Heart Project.
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The Assistant Minister visited the state’s North on Monday to further discuss the City Deal with Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten and Treasurer Peter Gutwein.
“We’ve had an extremely productive meeting talking about the future of this city, which is what a City Deal is all about,” he said.
“We focused on jobs, investment, education and a healthy river, all of which are crucial to the future of this great city.”
Mr Taylor said the three levels of government were working through a range of initiatives on top of funding commitments already made by the federal government.
Mr Gutwein said significant investment was “on the table” including the $130 million for the UTAS move and funding for City Heart.
Neither Mr Gutwein or Mr Taylor ruled out the potential for further funding commitments for water and sewage reform in the Tamar estuary.
“As a result of the City Deal what we are going to do is ensure we leverage the best outcomes that we can in terms of skills, creating apprenticeships and ensuring that Launcestonians get the best deal possible,” Mr Gutwein.
“Across a broad range of areas we’re going to ensure that the city, from the point of view of both livability and commercial activity, that we get the best use of the buildings through the CBD.”
Mr Gutwein said the final steps towards signing the deal would see all parties agreeing on the critical projects and ensuring resources were in place to complete those goals.
He said storm water options would be considered as a part of the City Deal.
Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten said it was exciting to have the Tamar included in the conversation and to have the potential for all levels of government to work together on a solution for river health.
“It was really good to be on the same page as the Treasurer and the federal government through Assistant Minister Taylor,” he said.
“We also talked about the Northern suburbs which is something we believe is extremely important to the future of Launceston … it’s not just about the CBD.”
The timetable for the completion of the City Deal is early 2017.
Holly Monery
Holly Monery is a journalist for The Examiner newspaper, based in Launceston, Tasmania. Her main area of focus is local government.
Holly Monery is a journalist for The Examiner newspaper, based in Launceston, Tasmania. Her main area of focus is local government.
