Local Houses and Businesses Also have Opportunity to Tap into Taxpayer-Funded Investment

Paul O’Halloran MP
Greens Member for Braddon
Friday, 16 November 2012

The Tasmanian Greens today welcomed the commissioning of a new four kilometre natural gas pipeline from Gawler, south of Ulverstone, to the Simplot potato processing factory.

Greens Member for Braddon, Paul O’Halloran MP, said that he had been campaigning for this extension since the 2010 State election, and is now hopeful that residents in and around Ulverstone will also soon be able to access the taxpayer-subsidised gas pipeline.

“The Greens acknowledge that the use of taxpayer funds to assist in the roll-out of this pipeline has helped ensure the security of hundreds of jobs at the Simplot factory, but there had been serious concerns at the outset of this project that it would bypass local businesses and residents,” Mr O’Halloran MP.

“I pursued this with Minister O’Byrne last year to ensure that locals would be provided access to the pipeline.”

“A mains gas supply could potentially make small business more competitive which opens up opportunities for job creation. It can also help with power and heating costs in people’s homes.”

“With today’s commissioning of the new four kilometres of gas pipeline, taxpayers’ investment should now be value-added by facilitating connections to other business, schools and domestic users in the broader Gawler and Ulverstone areas.”

“Hopefully the opportunity to tap into this taxpayer-funded infrastructure investment will be seized by the Central Coast community,” Mr O’Halloran said.

Hansard, 1 September 2011:

ENERGY – GAS ROLLOUT, ULVERSTONE

Mr O’HALLORAN (Question) – My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure. Minister, you would be well aware that taxpayers have subsidised the rollout of gas to the Simplot factory in Ulverstone, which we advocated. This has potentially protected hundreds of jobs in the central coast region. Is it not a fact that planning is well advanced to lay the new pipe from the artery in Gawler to Simplot? It has come to my attention that other potential users – domestic, small business and schools, for example – will not be able to connect to the pipeline even though it will be adjacent to these properties. Minister, with the new Ulverstone wharf redevelopment currently in the construction phase, and families wanting to reduce rising cost-of-living imposts, here would be a terrific opportunity to value-add to this rollout of reticulated gas to the broader central coast region.

Minister, as we have this little window of opportunity right now, can you inform the House as to why this taxpayer-subsidised investment apparently is not available to other users and give a commitment to facilitating access for other business operators and domestic users to be introduced on an appropriate commercial basis?

Mr O’BYRNE – I thank the member for his question. Yes, both Federal and State Labor governments combined at the last election to provide funding for natural gas to be rolled out to Simplot for them to restructure their energy needs and make them more profitable, and not only protect jobs in that community but also protect economic activity. So that decision was taken.

Ultimately the gas rollout is a matter for TasGas. It was the Tasmanian Labor Government that brought gas to Tasmania and rolled it out across the State. We significantly invested to ensure that we would provide opportunities for businesses, commercial and others to take advantage of that gas rollout. What we have done in our provision of the gas pipeline to Simplot is make sure the capacity is not purely for the use of Simplot but there is also capacity to build in other users. We recently met at a community forum in Ulverstone with the council and this was raised by the mayor and a number of councillors. We informed them that we would work with them to work with TasGas to combine a number of opportunities that would be given to the Ulverstone community. Ultimately it is a matter for TasGas but they have advised us that if there is enough interest from residential, business and other sections of the central coast community that they will provide that access. It is a matter for the business community of Ulverstone and other such potential users, so we would encourage discussions.

Ultimately this is not necessarily in my Infrastructure portfolio. It is under Economic Development. That department was given the responsibility because the decision regarding Simplot was around providing economic opportunity for that company to maintain their presence and jobs in Tasmania. We knew strategically that it would be important to provide potential for uptake. That potential is still there and we are willing to work with the central coast. We have made that offer. We will make it again today to work with the local community to see if there is enough potential private uptake.
Paul O’Halloran MP Greens Member for Braddon Friday, 16 November 2012