Less than two thirds of the Commonwealth government's promised funding to clean up the Tamar River is expected to be delivered by the next federal and state elections.
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In February 2018, then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a partnership between the federal government and the Tasmanian government to reduce pollution in kanamaluka/Tamar River.
The joint $95 million funding package for the long-term clean-up of the river, a commitment under the much-vaunted Launceston City Deal, was detailed after the Tamar Estuary Management Taskforce made a raft of recommendations in its river health action plan in December 2017.
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The federal and state governments will each ultimately contribute $47.5 million to the project.
But by the time the next national and state polls are due to be held in 2022, just $28 million of the federal funding will have been delivered.
The remaining $19.65 million will flow to the project by 2023-24.
A spokesperson for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge said if work could be undertaken quicker than currently budgeted for, the federal government would consider "bringing forward" its investment.
Tasmanian Labor senator Carol Brown urged the federal government to "get on with it and deliver the sewage fix they promised".
"There will be both a state and federal election before any major sewage works take place," she said.
State Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson said work was already underway to remedy the issues plaguing the Tamar, noting that dairy farmers and graziers could apply for grants under the Tamar Action Grants program, which offers incentives to prevent pollutants from entering the river's catchment.
"Detailed planning and design of the projects on the combined sewerage and stormwater system are also being progressed, with the state government committing up to an additional $300,000 for TasWater to complete a project plan for rolling out the works," he said.
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