The Tasmanian Government will be lobbying the Albanese Government to guarantee no Tasmanian business will be left worse off, as the Senate Select Committee inquiry into the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES) holds hearings in Tasmania this week.
Appearing before the Inquiry on Wednesday, Minister for Transport and Minister for Business, Industry and Resources, Eric Abetz, said it presented an opportunity to advocate for a level playing field for Tasmania.
"Our island state relies on sea freight for the movement of 99 per cent of our goods, across one of the most expensive stretches of water to move goods and people, with resulting flow-on effects for the cost of doing business and the cost of living," said Minister Abetz.
"Shipping has inherently high fixed costs across short distances, which is expensive when compared with road and rail transport, and Tasmania does not have the luxury of these cheaper alternatives.
"There have been numerous inquiries into the Scheme during its near-50-year existence, and we will be urging the Federal Labor Government to commit to a no-worse-off guarantee, noting the significant changes we've observed in Bass Strait shipping frequency and capacity over that time.
"Inconsistencies in the scheme's scope and operations seem to have crept in due to numerous amendments over the years; the different treatment for King Island and Flinders Island being one example I have lobbied the Federal Government about.
"It is also unacceptable that TFES assistance rates for our farmers and agribusinesses have not changed since 1998 and do not reflect increasing Bass Strait shipping costs, the problem exacerbated further in times of feed and fodder shortage from drought."
Minister Abetz said any change which left Tasmania worse off would be unacceptable.
"Any reduction in assistance would jeopardise businesses' ability to operate sustainably in Tasmania, while risking the security of the tens of thousands of export-dependent jobs," Minister Abetz said.
"We support changes to the Scheme that improve efficiency and simplicity for claimants, reduce administrative costs, and enhance confidence in the Scheme's integrity.
"It is now up to the Select Committee to carefully consider the representations made by Tasmanians and make recommendations that ensure the Scheme continues to offset the freight cost disadvantage for Tasmanian businesses.
"Tasmanian businesses should be no worse off under any changes to the Scheme and we call on the Australian Government to commit to a no-worse-off guarantee."
