The Liberal Government will deliver a new large police vessel to secure the capabilities of Tasmania Police to protect life at sea and safeguard our fisheries.
Next week's Budget is all about keeping our promises, fixing the budget mess and laying the foundations for the future.
Today, I am pleased to announce that we will turn a new chapter after the sorry saga of the former Police Vessel Fortescue that occurred under the previous Labor-Green Government.
The Liberal Government will be providing $5 million over two years to Tasmania Police to acquire a new large police vessel to replace the Fortescue and complement our existing large Police Vessels Van Diemen, Vigilant and Dauntless.
This new vessel is expected to be at least 23 metres in length (about 75 feet) and, like the PV Van Diemen, will operate out to 200 nautical miles off the Tasmanian coast in all conditions.
Her primary roles will be to respond to life-threatening incidents at sea and to protect our fisheries.
After years of Labor neglect, which has brought about a risk labelled by experts as "significant and intolerable", the Liberal Government will allocate $5 million over two years for the acquisition of a new vessel.
We will allocate up to $500,000 in this year's Budget to undertake preliminary investigations and commence the acquisition process. Advice and expertise will be sourced from independent specialists to mitigate the risks of the project.
Our announcement today follows the sale earlier this month of the Fortescue, which helped to realise some funds at least from the costly Labor-Green bungle that saw police left with a vessel that was not fit for purpose.
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