The Tasmanian Forest Products Association (TFPA) has welcomed a $181.9 million ongoing commitment to the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES) announced in last night’s Federal Budget, describing it as a good start for Tasmanian businesses.
However, TFPA Chief Executive Officer Nick Steel said the Federal Government must do more to assist Tasmanian businesses, including those in our sustainable forest industry.
“Our industry is pleased to see the Federal Government responding to last year’s Senate Inquiry into the TFES, but to ensure the scheme remains fit for purpose the government needs to commit to ongoing review and modernisation of the program,” Mr Steel said.
“This scheme was set up almost 50 years ago and it’s clear that, in its current state, it’s no longer working for Tasmanian businesses.
“Being an island, Tasmania is at a distinct disadvantage compared to other states when shipping goods to their markets. The Whitlam Government introduced the TFES in the 1970s to go some way to level the playing field between mainland and Tasmanian businesses.
“While we welcome to Federal Government’s commitment to rebalance the weighting for the different classes within the scheme, to arrest the class shift that has occurred over the past fifty-years, ongoing review and modernisation needs to continue – otherwise we will see the same issues occur moving forward.”
Mr Steel said the TFES remains a key pillar of the TFPA’s Federal Election priorities, and the association will be working with all sides of politics to ensure the program continues to work to improve opportunities for Tasmanian forestry businesses.
“We will be urging all parties to back the modernisation of the scheme to ensure it restores some cost parity and ensures an adequate indexation rate to enable businesses to participate in interstate and international trade on a more level playing field,” Mr Steel said.
“Australia is currently in a cost-of-living crisis. It’s being particularly felt here in Tasmania, not only by consumers but also by businesses trying to sell to the other states.
“That’s why all political parties must commit to doing everything they can to ensure Tasmanian businesses can compete fairly with their mainland competitors.”