Elise Archer MP

Police Minister David O’Byrne must explain why he allowed Tasmania Police to put out a tender for police boats which by its design excluded Tasmanian companies from tendering.

Instead, a Western Australian company has won the million-dollar tender to build the new vessels out of a plastic-compound material rarely used by Tasmanian boat builders, instead of aluminum.

Tasmania has a world-class ship-building industry and to design a tender for police boats which requires the boats to be built outside the capacity of our own industry is illogical and simply not good enough.

This is yet another reason why the Liberal’s local benefits’ test should be adopted, which would require the Government to take into account the wider economic and social value of buying from Tasmanian businesses, instead of from interstate.

Tasmania is in desperate need of these types of projects in order to stimulate the economy and ensure that the state can stand on its own two feet.

In government, the Liberals would be seizing every opportunity to grow jobs in this state, not outsource them interstate.

Elise Archer MP
Shadow Minister for Police and Emergency Management
Wednesday, 11 January 2012