Labor must back Hobart City Deal

There is every chance that in six months time Bill Shorten will be the Prime Minister of Australia — it’s probably time, then, that all Australians start paying attention to what he has promised.

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

THERE is every chance that in six months time Bill Shorten will be the Prime Minister of Australia — with the bookies having Mr Shorten’s party at $1.14 to win, compared to $5 for the Coalition. It’s probably time, then, that all Australians start paying attention to what Mr Shorten has promised.

Over the weekend he unveiled a “fair-go action plan” that includes massive investment in low-cost housing and boosted investment in health and education — to be funded by increased taxes and the removal of tax breaks and deductions. He also promised to impose new environment hurdles on development, and to review the Newstart system.

Zooming into Tasmania, and we know we can get set to call in a total of $142 million in promises that Mr Shorten and Labor made during the recent Braddon by-election. That cash included $60 million more for the Bass Highway, $30 million to help cut elective surgery waiting lists across the state, and cash for TAFE and mobile phone blackspots. Mr Shorten has also promised to contribute $25 million of taxpayer cash directly to a Tasmanian AFL team if and when the league granted the state a licence.

The good news is we can expect even more promises over the next six months — the benefit of the fact that three of our five seats are marginal electorates. While Tassie is unlikely to be the key battleground this time around, we will certainly be on the radar and so expect to see plenty of visits from frontbenchers from both sides of federal politics, and plenty of promises.

The biggest risk, however, comes from the Hobart seat of Clark (the renamed Denison) being so locked in to Independent Andrew Wilkie. As a crossbencher in today’s hung Federal Parliament Mr Wilkie maintains significant influence — and he will no doubt be working hard in the lead-up to the Budget to trade on that with the Liberal Party for Hobart’s benefit.

But after the election a hung Parliament is at almost the same outside odds as a Coalition victory ($4). That means that the funding that has long been promised by Canberra for the Hobart City Deal is at serious risk if Labor wins, despite Mr Wilkie’s passionate advocacy.

But it would be the wrong call for Labor to walk away from the City Deal. The fact is the funding is vital. The key components of the Deal are all important for the future of our capital city: the Antarctic Precinct at Macquarie Point, the University’s Science and Technology Centre in the CBD, and the northern suburbs transport corridor. Other initiatives could also be included as the Deal takes shape in coming months.

COUNCILS AGREE TO PAY OUT FOR CITY DEAL

The four Greater Hobart councils last night voted to put their money where their mouth is on this matter, committing to millions of dollars of spending to support the City Deal initiatives.

The Mercury, then, today calls on federal Labor to commit to funding the Hobart City Deal in full — and to explain in detail its timeframe for that cash.

The case for a Hobart City Deal is one that has been well made as a way to build on the city’s established strengths and to address some of our longstanding weaknesses. It is a vision for our strongest industries of the present and our future. It should be committed to by both sides of politics for at least the next decade.