Legilative Council, Wednesday 5 November 2025
Ms FORREST question to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE and TRANSPORT, Mr VINCENT
With regard to the Bass Highway Wynyard to Marrawah upgrade, on 28 May 2025 you provided the following response to a question regarding these roadworks, stating the then current construction project sites were:
- Stennings Road Junction improvements;
- Back Line Road and Myrtle Grove Road Junction improvements and road widening at junctions;
- Fagans Road and Schuurings Road alignment improvements along Bass Highway, and
- Christmas Hills Road and Dunns Road Junction improvements.
You also stated that the detailed design sites are Back Line Road and Myrtle Grove Road Junction improvements and Brittons Road and Bacon Factory Road Junction improvements.
You also stated that cost estimates against individual projects will be prepared by the design consultants once the remaining funds are released from the Australian Government and designs finalised.
You also assured me the Australian Government funds are secure. I now hear from my community that this may not be the case.
- How much of the $60 million Australian Government contributions committed to the agreement has been spent?
- Are the remaining Australian Government funds, as committed to in the agreements, still secure and how much unspent funding remains?
- How much of the $40 million Tasmanian government contributions committed to in the agreement has been spent?
- Are the remaining Tasmanian government funds committed to in the agreements still secure, and how much unspent funding remains?
- Can you provide an update on the progress of these works and the likely commencement of these works that are still under design?
ANSWER
Mr President, I have some answers here. It mightn’t cover everything there, but I am happy to go through the complete question and cover anything later that might not be covered in my answers here.
- As at 30 June 2025, $24.18 million of the $60 million Australian Government contribution has been spent.
- The remaining Australian Government commitment is secure. The balance of the Australian Government commitment is $35.82 million.
- As of 30 June 2025, $29.7 million of the $40 million Tasmanian government contribution has been spent.
- The remaining Tasmanian government commitment is secure, and the balance of the Tasmanian government commitment is $10.3 million.
- The design for the remaining works within the $100 million combined commitment for the Bass Highway Wynyard to Marrawah upgrade is currently underway and tendering of a further package of works is expected to be released in mid‑2026.
If there’s anything else you would like to know there, I am more than happy to seek that from the department.