Fears over the future and reputation of the Australian Maritime College were unanimously voiced by Aldermen at Launceston’s city council meeting on Monday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Despite government assurances that the AMC will benefit significantly from a federally-funded maritime technical college in Adelaide, the City of Launceston agreed to write to all Tasmania’s Liberal senators urgently requesting a meeting.
The council is concerned that even the perception of a diminished status of the globally-recognised institution could be “catastrophic”.
“A big issue with this and where it has gone wrong is that we should be the hub not South Australia,” mayor Albert van Zetten said.
“I think Launceston and the AMC should be a hub and the new facility should have been a spoke.”
Deputy mayor Rob Soward said he could understand the need for people to be trained on the ground in Adelaide, where the ships are being built, but the AMC could “become the thin edge of the wedge”.
Whether or not the $25 million invested by the federal government in South Australia was a good use of taxpayers money was questioned by Alderman Robin McKendrick.
“It is the taxpayer of Australia who is going to fund this when we have got something here already,” he said.
Ald McKendrick said it was a political move in the home state of Defence Minister Christopher Pyne.
“It is all to sure up votes for that particular person in his state, it has nothing to do with the real world or with what is best for Australia,” he said.
The mayor said he would have liked to see Minister Pyne visit the AMC ahead of making the Maritime Technical College announcement.
“I don’t think they fully understand what is happening here or what the AMC is doing,” Ald van Zetten said.
“We could see some of their trades coming here, a lot of work could be done here. We have a world renown facility with all the expertise and we don’t want to see it downgraded.”
He said Liberal senator David Bushby informed him that a visit from Minister Pyne could occur in May.