While silting is not new, a coordinated focus and oversight of the overall health of the estuary is a more recent arrangement.

Historically, no single agency or level of government has had the ability or resources to make a significant difference.

There have been continued calls for the establishment of a single entity to provide leadership and governance for the estuary, but we have already established this group, the Tamar Estuary Management Taskforce.

The TEMT was established under the Launceston City Deal in 2017 and includes representatives from Infrastructure Tasmania, the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (EPA), NRM North, Hydro Tasmania, TasWater and the Launceston, Northern Midlands, Meander Valley, George Town and West Tamar councils.

The establishment of TEMT signals the first time that all three levels of government, utilities and key stakeholders have joined together to deliver coordinated and evidence-based investment to the challenge of managing the health of the estuary.

The TEMT has been working hard, often behind the scenes, to bring the diverse organisations involved in the oversight of the Tamar together with a common purpose, working together for a healthy estuary. It is a big and complex task given the catchment for the estuary encompasses more than 10,000 square kilometres and five major river systems across nine municipalities.

The first job of the TEMT in 2017 was to develop the River Health Action Plan, a detailed roadmap for the future management of the estuary and its catchment system. Importantly, it drew on scientific data, brought experts together, challenged preconceptions and charted a course for the future.

All of the organisations represented on the TEMT recognise that by working together, we can achieve more. Together we can also dedicate significant funds to projects that will make the biggest difference to the ongoing health of the river system.

As a major commitment in the Launceston City Deal, the Australian and Tasmanian governments, along with TasWater and the City of Launceston, have committed $140.7 million to fund River Health Action Plan projects aimed at improving the long-term health of the estuary. This includes projects to improve catchment management, investigate sewerage intrusion investigations and upgrade the urban stormwater infrastructure. The broad membership of the TEMT and significant government investments allowed the organisations that are best placed to address specific issues to do so, in a coordinated way with less barriers to action. Since the beginning of 2019, NRM North has been delivering the catchment management program rolling out new initiatives to reduce the impacts of grazing and dairy which has already seen more than 150 kilometres of fencing installed on farms to protect waterways from livestock.

This program is helping the waterways to recover by increasing vegetation, reducing erosion issues, increasing resilience to flood damage, limiting the spread of invasive weeds, increasing local habitat and biodiversity, all of which will lead to better river health. The Sewage Intrusion Program, a partnership between the City of Launceston, West Tamar and Meander Valley councils and funded by the Australian and Tasmanian governments, is also underway, identifying and addressing sewerage cross-connections throughout Launceston's separated stormwater system. So far this program has identified nearly 40 sewerage cross-connections from private residences. Once these cross-connections are fixed an estimated 9.6 megalitres of sewage will be diverted away from the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary each year. Also addressing stormwater issues, TasWater has been progressing plans to better manage overflows from the combined system, and last month released a tender for design work on a range of infrastructure upgrades. While it finalises the extensive planning, design and investigation work required for more substantive infrastructure upgrades, it is already overseeing the commencement of construction for smaller projects such as improvements to the Willis St Pump Station. Returning back to the highly-visible talking point of silt, early next year the TEMT will be releasing the most thorough report ever produced on the management options for the estuary, including sediment management. This report will help guide the future management of the estuary, the best investment options for long-term river health, and will help to clear-up many of the misconceptions about silting of the river system. Many of the challenges facing the estuary and catchment will take time to solve, and the gains may not be immediately obvious on the surface, but progress is being made. Each project included in the River Health Action Plan and each coordinated investment we make is another step towards achieving a healthy kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary. We are all working together for a healthy estuary.