Emergency service boost to keep Tasmanians safe

The Hodgman Liberal Government is determined to Keep Tasmanians Safe.

That’s why the 2018-19 State Budget delivers on all the commitments we have made as part of our Plan to Build Your Future – that includes continuing to take a hard line stance on law and order, ensuring Tasmania Police officers have the support they require to keep Tasmanians safe, and a range of measures to ease the impact of flood and fire.

Tasmania Police

We are committed to boosting police numbers by a further 125 sworn officers and embarking on a $10 million dollar build of new police stations. In addition we will provide:

$400,000 for latest-technology Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) for Tasmania Police, along with training for police officers Statewide. This will assist in a range of specialist police activities including cracking down on anti‑social driving to ensure police can capture vehicles used in late night hooning, drag nights and mini‑bikes used in urban areas; and
$4.7 million to continue with plans to replace the Police Vessel Dauntless and by 2021, we will allocate funding of around $6 million for the replacement of the Police Vessel Van Diemen – to better equip for marine rescues, fisheries enforcement and protection of marine resources.

Fire and Emergency Services

The Government is providing $2 million for volunteer Tasmania Fire Service and State Emergency Service units to apply for equipment and station upgrades
We are investing $535,000 to develop, sustain and grow Regional Area Teams’ capacity from suitable volunteer fire fighters around the State, providing an exciting career path for those volunteers with good physical fitness levels.
$12.4 million will be made available to fund the internal fabrication of medium tankers and the purchase of heavy pumpers and aerial appliances as part of the Fire Fighting Appliances Replacement Program.
A total of $2.8 million is available for the replacement and refurbishment of fire stations.

Flood and Bushfire Mitigation

The Hodgman Liberal Government recognises the importance of flood mitigation and community fire safety. That’s why we are committing:

an additional $36 million to the Fuel Reduction Program, a nation-leading contemporary and strategic risk-based approach involving the whole of government.
$1.5 million over three years has been provided to assist with the establishment and ongoing administration of a Flood Policy Unit within the State Emergency Service.
The Commonwealth and Tasmanian governments are also jointly funding the $3 million Tasmanian Flood Project under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.

Other initiatives

$2 million to provide no-interest loans to small businesses to install high-quality CCTV, as part of our crackdown on shoplifting. A maximum loan of $10,000 per business will be available with a three-year repayment term.
$12 million to build a new Emergency Services Hub at Sorell, in recognition of the rapid growth of the South East region and Sorell in particular.

Tasmanians are well served by a strong emergency service contingent that’s well trained in preparedness, response and recovery. The Hodgman Liberal Government is proud to acknowledge and support both our career and volunteer emergency responders, through our support in the 2018-19 Budget.