Outgoing Premier Peter Gutwein was deeply immersed in the Northern Tasmanian community, and knew intimately the issues faced by those who live here - he has noted publicly he understood the need for a second Tamar bridge, because he himself had been caught in the bottleneck of traffic that clogs up the West Tamar Highway each day.

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But will it be same under newly-minted leader Jeremy Rockliff? While he is from the North-West, which, depending on who you ask, is a relative stone's throw from the North, Tasmania has always had distinct regions, that have distinct challenges and ideas.

Community leaders who have held the sympathetic ear of a Northern-based Premier will need to keep up the momentum to ensure the North's key projects are still at the forefront of the minds of the new Rockliff-Ferguson team and put them on notice.

The Tamar Bridge is one of those infrastructure projects; caught in the political funding trap of needing both state and federal support. However it was left out of the Launceston City Deal in 2017, which instead focused on the UTAS Northern Transformation Project as its cornerstone.

While the state government has pushed along the bridge process (at what seems like a snail's pace) all the movement we could see for many years was feasibility study after feasibility study for the proposed bridge.

During the state election campaign last year, parties traded barbs over the project, and then the Liberals committed to a timeline - with design and planning to be complete by 2023 and construction to begin by 2025.

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However, the bridge project has suffered delay after delay, and you would forgive the community when they say they don't believe the project will ever be delivered.

A spokesperson for the RACT congratulated Mr Rockliff on his appointment.

They said they were looking forward to working with the new Premier on delivering road infrastructure Tasmanians need.

"In particular, we would like to see the new Tamar River bridge and the Bridgewater Bridge delivered on time and on budget. RACT members would also like to see the Tasman and Bass Highways upgraded and made safer."

Health has been the number one issue on the minds of Tasmanians for a number of years and it's no different in the North.

Redevelopment of the Launceston General Hospital is expected to make a dent in elective surgery waitlists and make it easier for patients to see specialists and surgeons in both the public and private health sectors.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff has announced he will keep the Health portfolio, something that has been widely celebrated by stakeholders and so it would seem that the LGH redevelopment is something that will continue to progress under his leadership.

Tasmanians want health solutions now, and while there is no silver bullet, or quick fix, Jeremy Rockliff will continue to have his work cut out for him to find solutions that will improve outcomes for health patients and make health care more affordable.

The health of the Tamar Estuary has been a thorn in the side of governments of all persuasions for decades.

However, without the influence of Peter Gutwein, who understood how important the estuary is to the community, it is at risk of being out of sight out of mind?

During the state election campaign, Mr Gutwein pledged that he would undertake site specific dredging to improve access to the estuary for the yacht and rowing clubs.

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The government is also considering the advice from the Tamar Estuary Management Taskforce report on solutions to sediment build-up. It also committed to investigating a new governance model for the estuary.

Tamar Action Group chair Andrew Lovitt said TAG was calling on Mr Rockliff to immediately move to establish the independent authority and hoped that with new leadership a fresh set of eyes would look at the problems facing the Tamar.

"We would hope that there would be a reset, the public has emphatically spoken that they'd like to fix the mud, so we want to see some clear action from the new government," Mr Lovitt said.

Peter Gutwein was also a fierce advocate for the Tasmanian AFL side, and his contribution to holding the juggernaut of the AFL to account over the issue has been acknowledged by all who has been involved in the push to date.

Tasmanian AFL Taskforce member Peter Henderson addressed the issue during a Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania luncheon earlier in the week:

"Peter Gutwein got us here, but now we are at the pointy end, and we have the responsibility to maintain the momentum and get us across the finish line," he said.

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Mr Henderson said he and the taskforce had met with Mr Gutwein this week to discuss the bid, and said he admired the way Mr Gutwein had taken the AFL to task over the matter.

Upgrades to UTAS Stadium are discussed in conjunction in the push for an AFL team, but are not conditional or mutually exclusive.

However, the upgrades will provide important sport infrastructure for the North that are sorely needed.

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