Topics: $5 million for basketball facility at Legana, $2.1 million for Inglis River walking track, Burnie Urgent Care Clinic, cost of living

 

E&OE  

 

KIM NAPIER:

 

And it's nice to have your company right on a quarter past seven, still no election date, but that's not stopping politicians from forming an orderly queue to Tasmania from Canberra Airport. Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor is in town announcing an elected Liberal government will provide $5 million funding to build a new basketball facility for the Legana and wider northern sporting communities. Good morning to you.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Good morning. Kim, great to be with you.

 

KIM NAPIER:

 

Yeah. Thank you. Would you say it's easy to make election promises in opposition? No budget to balance, no policies to implement, no pesky reality getting in the way of you know, perfectly crafted sound bites.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, we do have budget constraints, and we will be putting out our budget position prior to the election, and it will be stronger than Labor’s, and it must be, because we've got to beat inflation, we've got to make sure we boost growth, we've got to make sure we've got a strong economy. So, all of that is absolutely a consideration for us, but we also know that critical initiatives like what we've been announcing here yesterday and today are what this region needs. We've got a fast growing region at Legana. It needs the sporting facilities, community infrastructure that that growth deserves, and we know if you're going to add housing supply, we need more houses in this country, absolutely, if young Australians are going to get the opportunity to own a house, we have to have the infrastructure, transport, community infrastructure, like sporting facilities, that support that growth and that's why that announcement was such an important one, as was our announcement for an urgent care clinic.

 

KIM NAPIER:

 

Yep, we'll get to that. So, $5 million for a four-court indoor basketball facility. Have you costed that? Does that include acquisition of land, construction materials, any funding allocated for ongoing maintenance, operational costs of the facility?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Yeah, the council has been doing that work. It's actually on council land, so no need to acquire the land, which obviously makes it easier. It's right next to the new school there, and a fantastic site, and next to the wonderful new oval that's been built there as well. So, we're working with council on that. They're doing the detailed design work, and this will be a contribution to make sure this can go ahead and support the local community, the fastest growing local community in northern Tasmania, and of course one of the fastest in Tasmania, one of the fastest ones in Australia.

 

KIM NAPIER:

 

Well, we'll keep in touch with council on that one. Craig Gibson, President of the Launceston Basketball Association, did get in touch, he's really happy with the announcement, saying the LBA is excited that further courts are being funded and planned for the Launceston region, given the current extreme shortages. The new four court basketball centre in that region will assist greatly with the issues we face in providing an extremely popular, vibrant and growing sport to everyone who wishes to play.

So that's made the Association really happy. As we move on, you’re in Wynyard this morning, where you'll be announcing a $2.1 million investment in walking tracks and restoration of the Inglis River around Wynyard. Now, given this commitment is contingent on a Coalition victory, what assurances can you give the Wynyard community that funding would be prioritised if you were elected rather than subject to future cuts or delays perhaps?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

No, it won't be. This is absolutely money that we have carefully worked through to make sure it is available and to my point earlier, we work all of our costings through the Parliamentary Budget Office, and we'll put out, prior to the election, our budget position, and it will be a stronger position than Labor’s and this is something we are very, very careful and rigorous about, and that's because these projects must proceed. If we get to government, we're not making commitments that we won't keep and what a great commitment this is. I've seen the power of building these walking tracks in areas like this. It opens up whole new areas for people to enjoy, for people to get out and to exercise, which is a wonderful thing, and to, obviously, you know, improve the amenity of that region. Look, we have an extraordinary region here, and this will just add to that amenity enormously for locals.

 

KIM NAPIER:

 

Now, my guest is Shadow Treasurer, Angus Taylor. Now you've stated that this project that we're talking about will bring economic benefits to the region. Can you provide specific projections on how the investment would drive tourism and local business growth and what measures would you put in place to then, you know, track its success?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Yeah, so look, we can see this from elsewhere we've built these kinds of walking tracks. Indeed, in my hometown, which is a regional centre, not so different from this part of Tasmania, we've built similar stretches of walking tracks, and we've seen big increases in the number of people walking along those areas and using the local cafes, local restaurants, pubs and so on, and bringing people into town, including things like Park Runs and indeed, that's the sort of activity we know can really utilise these stretches of walkways. So, it's a very exciting development, one we know from other areas we've seen a strong economic boost. Obviously, we will watch that closely, and our candidate in this area, Mal Hingston, will be looking closely at all of these initiatives, whether it's what we're about to talk about, the Urgent Care Clinic, or this one. Making sure that these initiatives will support it and deliver the outcome that people want.

 

KIM NAPIER:

 

And of course, we're talking about the electorate of Braddon. Yeah, look, let's get to that and I also want to sum up with you very shortly, just with a lot of texts that we've had this morning that aren't necessarily hyper local, but you're announcing today that a Dutton Coalition Government will deliver an Urgent Care Clinic for the Burnie community. This is something the Albanese Government has also committed to if re-elected.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Yeah, well, that's a matter for them, but this is something we're going to do. We'll make sure it has the opening hours that an urgent care clinic should have, and sadly, we haven't seen that at Devonport, and we think this is extremely important to the region, because we've seen a sharp reduction in bulk billing rates in the area, as we have right across Australia. Bulk billing rates have fallen sharply wherever we go, and that has been true in Burnie, 92,000 fewer bulk billed GP visits in Braddon, in the region in the last financial year under Labor compared to under the former Liberal National Government. So…

 

KIM NAPIER:

 

Would you say Labor are aware of that? Would you say Labor are aware of that if they're putting it on their re-election commitment, chocolate wheel, for want of a better term?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Well, I think it's more than a chocolate wheel. This is a cost of living crisis we're in right now, and health is part of that cost of living crisis, and that's why getting bulk billing rates back to where they were when we were last in government is such a priority for us. We need affordable, accessible healthcare, and that's why this initiative is so important.

 

KIM NAPIER:

 

Alright. Well, as you said, you will be in Burnie, just to sum up, you would be aware of the ABC’s campaign, and that is Your Say. We want to know from our listeners what they want, what are the issues they want from the next federal government to focus on, and you know, so we can make sure the people vying for your vote hear your concerns and questions. Now, there have been quite a few this morning that relate specifically to climate. Graham in Shearwater is talking about the Paris Agreement and plenty, too on salmon farming. So, these seem to be issues that Tasmanians are worried about outside of you know what you're announcing at a hyper local level.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Sure, I mean the announcements we're talking about are local, but there's broader announcements, including and a broader focus. I mean, we know that Australians are suffering under a cost of living crisis, the likes of which we haven't seen before. We've seen a sharper reduction in the standard of living of Australians than ever before. More than any of our peer countries around the world, people are struggling to pay the bills, including health, which is why that Urgent Care Clinic is so important, and that's why we have strong policies focused on beating inflation, boosting growth, backing small business, fixing housing supply, and we talked about that a moment ago and all of that is to make sure that people are in a position where they can pay their bills, their energy bills, their insurance bills, their grocery bills, that are up 30% we see earlier this week since Labor came to power, and that is absolutely urgent for Australians and we hear that everywhere we go.

 

KIM NAPIER:

 

Well, thank you for your time. Just finally, and it may sound flippant, Anthony Albanese, the current Prime Minister, gave me a promise that he would source a chocolate wheel for ABC Northern Tasmania, and the texts are coming in. We want a chocolate wheel. Somebody says here that you brushed off the chocolate wheel mention, and could you match Albanese’s promise of a chocolate wheel if elected.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

I have to say my first priority is the basketball facility, the walkways, the Urgent Care Clinic, as well as beating inflation and boosting growth, but happy to have a look at a chocolate wheel. I understand, I've heard the request.

 

KIM NAPIER:

 

It’s grassroots Angus, grassroots. Thank you very much for your time.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

 

Good on you Kim, thank you.

 

 

ENDS.