Legislative Council, Tuesday 25 October 2022

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to the decision of Bass Island Line (BIL) to commence a refrigerated container service between King Island and mainland Tasmania:

(1) Which businesses on King Island were contacted and/or consulted directly regarding this proposed service?

(2) Which individuals on King Island were contacted and/or consulted directly about this proposed service?

(3) Of those consulted, which ones supported the introduction and indicated their intention to use the service?

ANSWER

Thank you, Mr President. I thank the member for her question and the answers to (1), (2) and (3) are in the statement I am about to provide.

BIL continues to build a strong working relationship with existing and potential customers on the island. Out of personal and professional courtesy, and respect for those existing and potential customers and the individuals who have engaged in discussions around doing business with BIL, it would be inappropriate to provide the level of information required to answer these questions in detail. Instead, the following high-level summary is provided.

BIL engaged directly with shipping agents, retailers and businesses on the opportunities the perishables service presented. The overall response was heavily in favour of retaining the relationship with the existing air freight provider. BIL will continue to work with retailers and customers on King Island to assist in reducing the impact of cost of living pressures to the community on every day perishable food items. The introduction of the refrigerated container service is one way to help with this.

Ms Forrest - Through you, Mr President. I particularly asked for a breakdown because of all the people I spoke to on the island, which is a lot, none of them were directly consulted. That is why I was interested. Anyway, we are clearly not going to get that information. They would have been happy to have their names mentioned as not being asked. Perhaps I should have asked negatively rather than positively.