JW: The most appropriate place to start is probably coronavirus. How is this budget going to prepare the North to rebound?

PG: What we have aimed to do with this budget is to invest significant infrastructure to underpin the economy, to create jobs, importantly to provide a platform that the private sector can also get confidence from and start to invest.

In other news:

It's the biggest spending budget that the state has ever delivered. It'll provide for Tasmanians, and here in the North especially, safer roads, new schools ... , and it continues with significant investment into health as well. So across the board better health, education and importantly safer roads. What this will lead to are jobs.

JW: Is there a commitment from the government to use Tasmanian businesses to meet those contracts?

PG: What we have is a buy local policy. We've always had a policy whereby we would always favour Tasmanians doing the work. In fact, of every contract we put out there's a 25 per cent buy local component whereby local businesses are able to demonstrate that if they get the work that there are broader economic benefits as well.

There has also been a bit of a spend in improving places for apprentices that will obviously help people out here in the North?

Absolutely. There is over $22 million that will provide for those larger businesses, that pay payroll tax, if they employ an apprentice, a trainee or a youth, someone aged between 15 and 24, they get a payroll tax rebate out to 2022. So they get quite a significant benefit.

What you need to know about the state budget:

If you're a small business and you take on a trainee or an apprentice or a youth worker you get a $5000 grant from the government for taking that person on. If you match that with the Commonwealth's program which they are providing, for the payment of 50 per cent of an apprentices wages, it's never been a better time to hire an apprentice or trainee.

JW: One of the significant infrastructure projects up here in the North is the LGH redevelopment and ward 4K. What guarantees can you give to Northerners that the project will meet its targets?

PG: Well ward 4K will be finished this year. There's only $1.2 million to be spent on that project and that will be done this year. The car park will be finished as well.

Then we start the broader development which is in total, out of almost $80 million that's remaining on the project, there is about $76.3 million on that project and $12 million of that will be spent this year and then it will roll out over the next four years as well.

JW: Will that complete the LGH master plan?

PG: Well it goes a long way towards completing it yes. It is interesting [Friday] morning I was asked a question about the precinct plan and where the potential opportunity might be for a private hospital.

Obviously we are working through that. I'd like to see both public and private in the same precinct but there's a few steps to go through.

JW: Can you give us an update on where the co-located hospital plan is at?

PG: That's in a process at the moment. We really need to allow it to take its course but I know there is a real appetite for it.

JW: Some concerns have been raised by our readers and by the AMA about staffing levels at the hospital. Will there be a significant spend on staffing in the North?

PG: I heard the AMA's comments and to be frank I thought they'd misread the budget. In total in regards to health spending there is around $380 million that is being spent on capital works ... but the budget contains $9.8 billion worth of spending to support, in the main staff and the services provided through hospitals. In fact the bulk of the funding is all to do with staff.

JW: The Northern Prison is another significant infrastructure project for the North. Is there any contingencies in place if the current site doesn't meet its environmental approvals?

PG: We will work through that. Obviously this is now our preferred site. The early investigation that we did indicated that it would be quite appropriate to look at a prison on that site. Obviously subject to meeting all of the necessary planning approvals.

What you need to know about the state budget:

We are very early still in that stage and ultimately it will be a decision for the council out there to make once we submit a DA.

JW: Does the government have a backup plan if the site doesn't happen to meet those requirements?

PG: We are focused on this site at the moment. The feedback, broadly speaking, from the community out there has been very positive in terms of the government's decision to move it further away from Westbury.

Now they're obviously some that aren't all that keen but in the main the feedback has been very positive.

JW: How has the consultation process for the prison site differed to other infrastructure projects say the Legana School?

PG: The school at Legana has obviously been a conversation now for about 10 years. As a result of that conversation obviously local government has been engaged from day one. With the prison we went through an expression of interest process.

What you need to know about the state budget:

Communities are generally happier to build a school than what they are to build a prison. So for obvious reasons the process is different. We sought, around the North, people to put forward options for [prison] sites.

We had originally chosen that site at the industrial location near Westbury. That seemed to stack up best but there were some challenges with that and some concerns from the community. So I think very sensibly we moved it further away from the town.

JW: We've talked a lot about Launceston, how will the broader North benefit from this budget?

PG: In terms of the spending in this budget it is wide ranging. The Northern roads program will be rolled out. As I have said we have schools that will be built and programs there. Health investment will be into regional and rural facilities as well.

In terms of this budget the key thing that I am most pleased with is that out of the $5 billion there is not a region in the state that does not benefit.

The other thing that is in this budget is the second stage for the Tamar River crossing. A couple of years ago we announced that we wanted to begin the investigation of a second river crossing.

JW: What does the next stage look like?

PG: It is about understanding the most appropriate route [and] doing the geotechnical work as well to understand what you can do in terms of the banks but also the crossing across the river.

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