Scott Bacon: Labor welcomes boost in Spirit numbers

Shadow Tourism Minister Scott Bacon has welcomed reports that tourist numbers on the Spirit of Tasmania have improved in the current financial year.

“Labor welcomes this boost to the number of tourists visiting the state on the Spirit of Tasmania,” Mr Bacon said.

“It shows the TT-Line is being well managed and is a boost for the Tasmanian economy and bottom line.”

Mr Bacon called on the Liberal Party to support the current business model, which will see TT-Line profits used to buy replacement ferries.

“The Liberals refuse to rule out ripping out a dividend from TT-Line to pay for their extravagant election promises,” Mr Bacon said.

“To do this puts the future viability of this valuable asset at risk.”

Mr Bacon expressed concern that the Liberals had taken no action to follow through on their popular election promise to cut fares by 20 per cent.

“Fares have actually gone up under the Liberals,” Mr Bacon said.

“Labor Right To Information requests show that there has in fact been no directive by the Liberals to TT-Line to reduce fares, so what exactly is this Government doing reduce the cost of Bass Strait travel?”
Scott Bacon MP Shadow Tourism Minister