PM Scott Morrison to connect with West Coast community ahead of Liberals’ State Council in Hobart

UPDATE: TASMANIA is hungry for a legal guarantee that it won’t be worse off under changes to the GST carve up, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison says its essential services are already a sure thing under the plan.

UPDATED: TASMANIA is hungry for a legal guarantee that it won’t be worse off under changes to the GST carve up, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison says its essential services are already a sure thing under the plan.

Tasmanian Treasurer Peter Gutwein was among state and territory treasurers to push for the legal guarantee this week.

But Mr Morrison has suggested Tasmania has nothing to worry about, with data showing it will get an extra $122 million over eight years.

The Prime Minister also sought to highlight his common ground with Premier Will Hodgman during a visit to the state’s West Coast.

“What we’re committed to, as a Prime Minister and a Premier, is to a guarantee of the essential services that Tasmanians rely on,” he told reporters in Queenstown today.

Hydro Tasmania CEO Stephen Davy, Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman and Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Lake Plimsoll on the West Coast of Tasmania. Picture: CHRIS KIDD

“On their schools, on their Medicare, on their hospitals. And our guarantee is our record on that.

“We’re working very closely as a team and I want to thank the Tasmanian Government for the strong input there’s been to this process.”

The Federal Government intends to introduce legislation for the GST changes, including a 75-cent floor in payments, when parliament resumes sitting in mid-October.

The plan was hatched to protect Western Australia’s share, which crashed to less than 30 cents in the dollar after the mining boom.

Mr Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have maintained every state and territory will be better off under the new system, with the group set to get an extra $9 billion over the coming decade and an extra $1 billion a year beyond that.

But they don’t want to amend the proposed laws to include a guarantee nobody will be worse off, saying it would “parallel systems”.

— AAP

Prime Minister Scott Morrison inside the Tribute Power Station on the West Coast of Tasmania. Picture: CHRIS KIDD

EARLIER: PRIME Minister Scott Morrison says he is working closely with Tasmania on changes to how GST is carved up, as he remains under pressure from states to guarantee in law they won’t be worse off.

Tasmanian Treasurer Peter Gutwein was among state and territory treasurers to push for the legal guarantee this week, which the Federal Government believes would create “parallel systems”.

“We’re working very closely as a team and I want to thank the Tasmanian Government for the strong input there’s been to this process,” Mr Morrison told reporters in Queenstown today.

Making his first visit to the island state since usurping Malcolm Turnbull in August, Mr Morrison also described Tasmania’s proposed pumped hydro energy generation scheme as a “cracker of a project”.

SITES EARMARKED FOR $5B PUMPED HYDRO PROJECT

Prime Minister Scott Morrison headed west for hydro-electric country on his first visit to the island state since he took on the top job. Picture: AAP

He said pumped hydro was “fair dinkum power” because it worked when the sun wasn’t shining and the wind wasn’t blowing.

Ahead of a tour of a potential pumped hydro site at Lake Plimsoll, Mr Morrison said energy was a big focus for his government.

The Canberra contingent was also keen to highlight Tasmania’s internet connectivity.

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said Tasmania was a hair’s breadth away from becoming the first Australian state to be fully connected to the National Broadband Network.

West Coast towns Rosebery, Queenstown and Strahan were now online, he said, making the Apple Isle’s connection 99.7 per cent complete.

“When Zeehan comes online, Tassie will just about be done,” Senator Fifield told reporters in Queenstown, adding the NBN was on track to be completed nationally by 2020.

EARLIER: PRIME Minister Scott Morrison is touring Tasmania’s West Coast to spruik the NBN and renewable energy on his first visit to the island state since he took the top job.

Mr Morrison said the towns of Rosebery, Queenstown and Strahan were now connected to the NBN.

“We know a decent internet connection is really important for health, education and business services,” he said.

About 2900 homes and businesses will be connected and residents of Zeehan can expect to be able to order a service by the end of the year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, centre, taking in the sights of Queenstown with Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman, right.

Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator Mitch Fifield, said the improved connectivity would provide real economic benefits for the region.

The Government committed $18.5 million in 2016 to see the rollout upgraded on the West Coast from satellite to a mix of fixed line and fixed wireless.

The funding, which includes $4.5 million from the Tasmanian Government, means Queenstown, Rosebery and Zeehan will be connected by NBN Co’s fixed line technology and Strahan will be connected by fixed wireless.

Old houses near the Lake Margaret Power Station.

Mr Morrison will also visit the Lake Margaret power station near Queenstown before he leaves the West Coast for Hobart.

The Tasmanian Liberal party’s State Council is being held at the Blundstone Arena, on Hobart’s Eastern Shore, this weekend.

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