Bruny Island is a unique and valued part of the Kingborough community. Its residents deserve the same standard of infrastructure and road safety as the mainland municipality. Current funding arrangements have left Bruny Island underserved for too long.
As Mayor, I will investigate a dedicated increase in infrastructure and capital works funding for Bruny Island, with state roads funded by the Tasmanian State Government and Kingborough Council contributing the remainder.
A matter of state significance
Bruny Island is the number one tourist destination in the south of Tasmania. Yet the cost of managing and maintaining the island’s infrastructure is disproportionate to its small ratepayer base, and council cannot keep pace with the expense on its own. When visitors travel to the island and struggle with a lack of facilities, the damage is not confined to Kingborough. It puts Brand Tasmania at risk. That makes Bruny Island’s infrastructure a matter of state significance, not just a council responsibility.
That is why I am proposing a joint venture between Kingborough Council and the Tasmanian Government, through the Premier’s office, to develop a funding solution together. Whether the answer is a levy or another mechanism, it must be a joint solution. Council cannot fix this alone, and the State Government cannot ignore it. I have already begun discussions to bring this about, and the momentum is advancing.
A tourist levy on ferry crossings for non-residents
The core of my proposal is to investigate the economics and the feasibility of a tourist levy on ferry crossings for non-resident visitors to Bruny Island. This option can only be achieved in conjunction with the State Government, which is why the joint venture comes first. The revenue collected would be quarantined and used exclusively by Kingborough Council to lift infrastructure and capital works investment in the Bruny Island community. Internal council processes would be developed to ensure that every dollar collected through the levy can only be spent on council work that directly benefits Bruny Island. It cannot be absorbed into general revenue, and it cannot be diverted to mainland projects. Full transparency, full public reporting.
I have already begun socialising this idea with Bruny Island community leaders. The response has been overwhelmingly in favour. Islanders understand better than anyone the pressure that visitor numbers place on local infrastructure, and they recognise that a modest visitor contribution, fairly applied, would directly strengthen their community.
Community members on the island who have done their own research indicate there are approximately 200,000 passenger movements to Bruny Island each year, and passenger movements are increasing exponentially. The number of bus movements on the island has grown dramatically, especially with visitors offshoring from cruise liners. I intend to investigate and verify these figures, and once confirmed, use them as the basis for modelling what a modest, fair levy could realistically generate for island infrastructure. Even at a conservative levy rate, 200,000 movements represents a meaningful and dedicated revenue stream that could transform what Kingborough is able to invest in the Bruny Island community year on year.
A levy of this kind only works if the exemptions are right, and islanders have been clear about who must not pay. The levy would fall on tourists and day trippers only. The following would not pay:
- Bruny residents, both owner-occupiers and renters
- Non-resident property owners. Shack owners pay rates too
- Tradespeople, contractors and delivery services working on the island
- Nurses, teachers, aged care staff, allied health and other essential workers
- Family visiting residents, through a nominated plate registration
Registration would be built on the ferry operator’s existing customer categories, which are Resident (Owner), Resident (Rental) and Landowner, and which are recorded by name and vehicle. No new class of pass or code needs to be invented to make this work.
The Kettering ferry queue backing onto the Channel Highway is a safety problem in its own right. Vehicles queue onto a state highway, and that is a crash waiting to happen. It will be dealt with alongside any levy, not after it.
Non-resident and shack owners will be consulted directly, not through resident groups alone. They pay rates, they hold a direct interest in the outcome, and they are entitled to be asked in their own right.
Essential workers and ferry cost equity
My understanding is that essential workers who commute to Bruny Island currently receive no compensation for their ferry travel costs, and that needs to change. Islanders have also made the point that the cost does not fall only on people travelling to the island. Many tradespeople and support workers are based on Bruny and bear heavy weekly ferry costs moving vehicles and equipment on and off the island. Nobody should bear a cost that effectively functions as a tax on employment, whichever direction they are travelling. I intend to work with the state government to address this. Any solution will need to factor in fair compensation to the ferry operator, and with Journey Beyond taking over the service from 1 July, I would hope they come to the table as a genuine community partner. If goodwill is not enough, this is the kind of matter that can be addressed through legislative means. The fact that some movement on this appears imminent is encouraging.
As Mayor I will:
- Progress the joint venture I have already begun advancing between Kingborough Council and the Tasmanian Government, through the Premier’s office, to develop a funding solution for Bruny Island infrastructure, recognising its state significance to Brand Tasmania as the number one tourist destination in the south of Tasmania
- Investigate the economics and feasibility of a tourist levy on ferry crossings for non-resident visitors to Bruny Island, in conjunction with the State Government
- Develop internal council processes that ensure levy revenue can only be spent on council work directly benefiting Bruny Island, with full transparency and public reporting
- Progress a formal cost sharing funding framework with the State Government for state roads
- Engage Journey Beyond, the new ferry operator, to plan for integrating tourist levy collection into Bruny Island ferry ticketing. If not possible, promptly identify alternative methods that maintain smooth service and access
- Guarantee exemptions from any levy for Bruny residents, both owner-occupiers and renters, non-resident property owners, tradespeople, contractors and delivery services, essential workers including nurses, teachers, aged care staff and allied health, and family visiting residents through a nominated plate registration, so that the levy falls on tourists and day trippers only
- Fix the Kettering ferry queue backing onto the Channel Highway as a safety problem in its own right, alongside any levy rather than after it
- Consult non-resident property owners and shack owners directly rather than through resident groups alone
- Work with the State Government to address ferry costs for essential workers who commute to Bruny Island, and for tradespeople and support workers based on the island who bear weekly ferry costs moving vehicles and equipment, including advocating for any legislative change required
