Question on Notice – Bass Highway upgrades

Legislative Council, Wednesday 3 December 2025

Ms FORREST question to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE and TRANSPORT, Mr VINCENT

QUESTION:

1. Can you confirm:
   a. Details of the total funds expended to date on each component of the project; and
   i. Details of the total funds expended to date on each component of each project; and
   ii. A breakdown of expended funds related to Australian Government funds; and
   iii. A breakdown of expended funds related to Tasmanian Government funds.
   b. The timelines for and amounts of expenditure of the remaining committed Federal funds;
   c. The timelines for and amounts of expenditure of the remaining committed State funds;
   d. The final costs for each component of the works already undertaken as part of this whole works package.
2. Whether funds the committed by the Australian Government have now been released for the 2024-25 Financial Year;
3. The amount of funds the committed by the State Government and how much has been expended and how much remains to be spent;
4. Please provide copies of all progress reports provided by the State to the Australian Government required under the agreement since works commenced;
5. All notes on Administration as referred to in the Agreement; and
6. Details of any variations from the original agreed project scope.

ANSWER:

1. Funds expended to date on each component of the project is provided in Table 1, which I intend to table at the conclusion of this answer.
2. The 2024-25 funds committed by the Australian Government have been released.
3. The Tasmanian Government contribution is $40 million. As at 30 June 2025, $29.7 million has been spent with a balance of $10.3 million remaining.
4. I intend to table the Australian Government Monthly Progress Report extract for reporting related to this funding commitment.
5. I also intend to table the Notes on Administration as referred to in the Agreement. For reference, these can also be found on the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts website.
6. The proposed inclusion of the construction of a Heavy Vehicle Driver Rest Area at Detention River is the only variation to the original scope for the Bass Highway – Marrawah to Wynyard Upgrade project.

The design of the Detention River Heavy Vehicle Driver Rest Area was completed as part of the Heavy Vehicle Driver Rest Area funding commitment with the construction cost of $1.5 million proposed to be funded from the Bass Highway Wynyard to Marrawah corridor program.
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.

The timing and scope of some of these works may change subject to discussions currently underway with Circular Head Council on priorities for the Bass Highway between Smithton and Marrawah.

Mr President, I seek leave to table the three pieces of information in answer to Question 1, Question 4 and Question 5.