Legislative Council, Tuesday 18 October 2022

Ms FORREST question to LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to the decision by JBS Australia Pty Ltd to ship cattle from King Island to Devonport for transport to the Longford Abattoir on the Bass Island Line (BIL):

(1) what discussions and/or correspondence were held between TasPorts and JBS regarding this service;

(2) what discussions and/or correspondence were held between BIL and JBS regarding this service;

(3) what discussions and/or correspondence were held between the Government ministers and JBS regarding this service; and

(4) regarding the response to questions (1), (2) and (3), did these matters include matters related to freight costs, reliability of the service, biosecurity and/or animal welfare?

ANSWER

In answer to questions (1), (2) and (4), TasPorts advises that it is not at liberty to disclose sensitive commercial information about its customers or potential customers. JBS Australia is a large corporation with many commercial interests and it is inappropriate for TasPorts to provide information relating to the commercial relationship between two corporations.

Ms Forrest - I am not asking for the details, I just asked did it happen.

Mrs HISCUTT - In answer to (3), the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport advises that he has not been involved in discussions with JBS in relation to this service which is a commercial matter for BIL.

Ms Forrest - Convenient obfuscation of the matter.