State Government says Hobart City Deal must wait until after the festive season
Delays to the finalisation of a Hobart City Deal are raising concerns it may not be signed before the federal election meaning the capital may miss out.
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THE Hobart City Deal will not be finalised before the end of the year.
Despite Hobart’s four urban councils holding special meetings on Monday night to endorse the draft deal, there will be no Christmas gifts delivered by the state or federal governments.
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The State Government said the deal would be signed early in the new year.
They said there was no delay but it was instead timing issues around the festive season.
When Federal Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge visited Hobart in early November he said they hoped to complete the deal “by the end of the year”.
“We’re getting close to finalising the deal,” he said.
“It’s going to involve transportation, it will involve housing, it will involve the Macquarie Point redevelopment and other aspects of the deal.”
State Treasurer Peter Gutwein said in November the deal would hopefully be “completed by the end of the year”.
Kingborough Mayor Dean Winter told the Mercury on Tuesday the council held a special meeting on Monday specifically to consider the Hobart City Deal and Greater Hobart Bill.
“We did so to meet the federal and state governments’ stated timelines,” he said.
“Kingborough is doing everything it can to keep the momentum going and see to some real commitments to the deal before the next election.
“Traditionally, southern electorates have struggled to attract the same level of funding as northern electorates during federal campaigns.
“The objective for the councils has to be to substantially deal with this well before an election period, with the core components of the deal supported, because they stack up on the basis of need, not on the basis of political priorities.”
Federal Denison independent MP Andrew Wilkie said he understood the Federal Government was planning to make a commitment by the end of January.
He said it was fantastic the four Greater Hobart councils had signed on but the state and federal governments were yet to give firm funding commitments.
“The Federal Government is leaning on the fact they’ve already committed half a billion dollars to a new Bridgewater Bridge,” he said.
“That’s a really good down payment but I’ll continue to work hard in Canberra to get additional Commonwealth funding to pay for the other components of the Hobart City Deal.
“I want to see as much [money] as I can get my hands on.”
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Federal Labor spokesman for cities and regional development Anthony Albanese told the Mercury a federal Labor government would honour any City Deal struck under the current government.
But if a deal was not signed before next year’s federal election and Labor won, the State Government and civic leaders would need to negotiate an alternative arrangement.
City Deals are not part of Labor policy.
“The Coalition cut funding for a study of light rail in Hobart, slashed the Rail Revitalisation Plan and has failed to advance the Macquarie Point redevelopment in spite of the former federal Labor government providing $50 million to ensure this urban revitalisation project could proceed,” Mr Albanese said.
“Unlike the Coalition, Labor delivered real dollars for real projects when we were last in office.
“We will do it again.”
EDITORIAL: LABOR MUST BACK HOBART CITY DEAL
Elements of the City Deal floated to date include $461 million for the Bridgewater Bridge, the $400 million University of Tasmania STEM centre, a light rail system and modern public transport as well as redevelopment of Macquarie Point, including an Antarctic precinct.
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