RELATED: Plan to cut sewage releases

BASS Liberal MHR Andrew Nikolic says he'll await the outcome of a study of Launceston's sewerage system before he confirms support and lobbies for funding for a tertiary treatment facility on the Tamar. 

But his key opponent in the upcoming federal election will lobby his party to commit funds towards sewage treatment upgrades.

Federal Bass Labor candidate Ross Hart said it was unacceptable that sewage was still winding up in the city’s main waterway.

"It's actually shameful that we haven't got a clean river that we can use on a properly recreational basis," he said.

"It is twice as shameful that it is sewage."

"TasWater says that's a $200 million job and the federal government is going to have to provide its part.

"I'm making submissions to the federal ALP to make a commitment. I'm reasonably confident that there will be funding for that. 

"I had brief words to Bill Shorten when he was down here and he was wholly supportive."

Mr Hart said while he would prioritise health pledges above all else in his upcoming election campaign, he believed that the Tamar issue was not just an environmental one.

"You can't make any recreational use of the Tamar without exposing yourself to harm and that's unacceptable," he said.

"If I have a priority, with respect to lobbying, it's that a federal government of any persuasion fund as a matter of urgency TasWater's upgrading program."

"It's not a sexy issue but there is a fundamental and environmental concern that everybody has regarding safety."

Mr Nikolic in 2013 secured $500,000 for the comprehensive study into Launceston’s combined sewerage and stormwater system by TasWater and international experts Beca. 

He said that study would provide a clear direction for future work priorities.

“A solution to the health problems of the Tamar isn’t going to be solved by a single element," Mr Nikolic said.

"There’s decades of pollution in the rivers and the catchments will continue to deliver pollution and silt into the estuary until (Tamar Estuary and Esk Rivers Program) and Landcare projects, and other remedial measures, start to make a difference.”

"However, it is important to note that fixing the sewerage infrastructure is not a sole federal government responsibility,” Mr Nikolic said.