Legislative Council, Wednesday 22 March, 2023

Ms FORREST (Murchison) - I also have a question about the answer I received regarding the King Island shipping wharfage charges. The Leader clearly stated that when SeaRoad were doing the freight from Melbourne, Devonport, King Island and sometimes there was a Melbourne/King Island leg, I have it on very good advice that the cost to King Islanders was the same. However, the Leader said that they did not take the freight off in Devonport.

Let us think about this. This is where it defies all logic. You load up the vessel in Melbourne with freight for Devonport, mainland Tasmania and King Island. You come to Devonport. You take off the mainland Tasmania freight; but you are going back via King Island to Melbourne, so you will put on Melbourne freight. Will you put the Melbourne freight on in front of the King Island freight so that when you get to King Island, a much smaller port, you will take all the Melbourne-bound freight off, and then unload the King Island freight and then put all the Melbourne freight back on?

What they did, Mr President, is that they took it off in Devonport - because there is a much smaller volume generally going to King Island - took it off and put it back on after they put the Melbourne-bound freight on. Does that make sense to people? Does that sound logical? SeaRoad Shipping were charged the wharfage. I have evidence that they were charged that wharfage but they were rebated at the end of each period or at the end of the year - I am not sure whether it is every quarter or every year - for those costs. So, King Islanders paid just the wharfage ex-Melbourne and just the wharfage into King Island, whether it came direct or whether it came via - treating King Islanders like Tasmanians, how about that?

When the Leader says to me that they did not offload in Devonport, I think she needs to go back to whoever provided that advice and actually get the truth and then answer the question. Not you particularly, but the people you are answering on behalf of, to answer the question about when that decision was made to stop that arrangement that saw a wharfage charge.

I do not have an issue with charging wharfage when you are using the port facilities because that it what it is about. However it was, under some sort of decision and policy, or whatever of TasPorts to fully rebate that cost back to SeaRoad Shipping and somewhere along the line there has been a change that it no longer happens. No-one was consulted and no-one was informed.

King Islanders deserve to be treated like Tasmanians and at least have a bit more openness and transparency. Do not tell me rubbish that they did not unload the vessel in Devonport.