West Coast left scratching as mayor declares recovery package a failure

THE West Coast’s mayor has declared a State Government $2.47m recovery package, set up in 2014 after two mine closures, a failure.

West Coast Mayor Phil Vickers on the balcony of the Empire Hotel at Queenstown. Picture: CHRIS KIDD

PHIL  Vickers typifies the straight-talking, no-nonsense style of Tasmania’s West Coast.

And, in his position as the reg­ion’s mayor, Councillor Vickers is not mincing words when he says the State Government’s $2.47 million recovery package, set up in 2014 after the closures of the Mt Lyell copper mine and nearby Henty gold mine, has been a failure.

“It hasn’t created one job,” Cr Vickers told the Sunday Tasmanian.

“We partnered [with government] on a footpath project in Strahan, which used unemployed people for six months, but that’s all. All the rest is half-finished projects.”

More than 350 jobs were lost when the two mines closed, a devastating blow for a region already struggling with high unemployment and a depressed economy.

In response, Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman announced a West Coast Economic Working Group to help the region recover from job losses.

In the two years since that announcement, Cr Vickers said he had met the Premier twice.

“When the mine shut, he sent [then mining minister] Adam Brooks around with a bucket of money and he picked the projects and not one of them has been finished,” Cr Vickers said.

Cr Vickers said Labor leader, and unabashed West Coast supporter, Bryan Green, asked to be on the economic advisory group but was knocked back.

“It would have been better if it was a bipartisan group,” he said.

Of the “half-finished projects”, Cr Vickers said one ­project — Horsetail Falls Track — had blown out to $1.4 million with much work still to be done.

The Horsetail Falls track at Queenstown. Picture: CHRIS KIDD

The wooden and steel track looks rickety and dangerous as it winds its way across the flank of Mt Owen, in full view of motorists driving in and out of Queenstown.

Locals have renamed it the Horsetail Fiasco.

The idea, Cr Vickers said, came from the State Government.

Originally costed at $400,000, it was meant to attract tourists to the Horsetail Falls.

Cr Vickers said the company responsible for building the track came from Hobart and none of the money for the infrastructure went to Queenstown.

“They’ve spent more than a million dollars up there and it’s not finished,” Cr Vickers said.

Cr Vickers insists that any assistance package for the West Coast should have more involvement from its residents and community leaders.

“It should reflect our 2025 Community Plan, which ref­lects all the things our community wants to achieve over the next 25 years,” he said.

“All Government assistance is welcome but it should be reflective of that plan.”

Premier Will Hodgman disputes Cr Vickers’ claims on the success of the program.

“While I understand the mayor’s frustration, we all need to remember that the funding was provided to these projects on the recommendation of the Working Group, which included the West Coast mayor and AWU,” Mr Hodgman said.

“A deliberate decision was made by the Government to exempt politicians, except Adam Brooks as chair, to make sure the outcomes were community led, not politically led.

“A total of $2.471 million was allocated to support the West Coast projects and up to 141 new jobs, and we will continue to work closely with the local community and council to ensure that funding is ­directed to most important priority areas.”

The mining industry is still the biggest employer on the West Coast but the majority of miners and their families have moved out of Queenstown.

“Better roads and five-day-on and five-day-off mining shifts have helped people decide to move their families — you couldn’t do that 25 years ago,” Cr Vickers said. “It allows people to live somewhere else, which is a bit sad.

“Any country town around Australia could say the same thing.”

Tourism is seen as the key to the West Coast’s future.

“The cool climate, wilderness, arts and heritage are drawcards that will light up the region again,” Cr Vickers said.

At last month’s Unconformity Festival, thousands of visitors booked every room across the region, something unheard of two years ago.

He said Unconformity organiser Travis Tiddy and the committee had been part of the catalyst for change.

“Over 60 per cent of the population has not lived here for more than five years — hard to believe but it’s true,” Cr Vickers said.

“That’s a whole new lot of people with new ideas that we need to cater for.”

Originally published as West Coast left scratching as mayor declares recovery package a failure