Director Appointed for $60 million Northern Cities Initiative

The Hodgman Liberal Government is extremely pleased to announce James McKee has been appointed as Director of the Northern Cities Major Development Initiative.
James McKee comes with a wide range of experience and networks both in Tasmania and nationally. Best known as the CEO of NRM North, he is also the Chairman at Tourism Northern Tasmania, and of the Launceston Airport CACG.
He has been involved with many of the regional and local planning initiatives over the past decade and was until recently, a member of the UTAS Northern Advisory Board and the National Landcare Advisory Committee.
Mr McKee comes with a high level of regional development experience, particularly in water management and agriculture from his time working in the Queensland Murray Darling Basin, and I look forward to him applying those skills to this major job creating infrastructure package.
The Hodgman Liberal Government is investing $60 million to turbocharge development in Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, where the economy hasn’t recovered as quickly as the south.
The Office of the Coordinator-General has been working with other stakeholders on projects including the Devonport Living City, the Launceston University of Tasmania Campus Relocation Project, and enhancing the presence of the University of Tasmania at West Park in Burnie.
The Office of the Coordinator General will work in close collaboration with northern Tasmanian councils to strategically drive these infrastructure investment projects.
To ensure the Coordinator General has the necessary support for this project an additional $225,000 has been made available in the State Budget each year for the next two years.
The Office of Coordinator General, together with Local Governments, will work together to direct the $60 million across the northern cities, and manage the timing and nature of the investments.
This is an important opportunity to change the economic fabric of our northern cities, generating hundreds of millions in construction work and thousands of jobs.
Mr McKee will start in the role next month.
Matthew Groom, Minister for State Growth