Chapter 1Introduction
1.1On 20 August 2024 the Senate established the Select Committee on the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (the committee), to inquire and reporton:
(a)the merits and weaknesses of the scheme and if it is currently fit forpurpose;
(b)if the scheme has kept up with increasing costs over the past decade;
(c)the cost and budget of the scheme;
(d)shipping costs, competition and shipping industry competitive structures across Bass Strait, including alternative freight options;
(e)eligibility criteria under the scheme;
(f)the operation and administration of the scheme;
(g)how the scheme impacts businesses on King Island and Flinders Island;and
(h)any other related matters.
1.2The Senate set the committee’s final reporting date as 26November2024.
1.3On 21 November 2024, the Senate agreed to extend the committee to 20December 2024, to ensure that evidence could be properly considered and to enable the committee to obtain a costing from the Parliamentary Budget Office.
Conduct of the inquiry
1.4The committee agreed to open submissions on 26August2024 and set 24September2024 as the closing date. The committee wrote to a range of key stakeholder groups, government agencies, organisations, and businesses, drawing their attention to the inquiry and inviting them to make a writtensubmission.
1.5The committee received 32public submissions, which are available on the committee’s webpage and listed at Appendix1.
1.6Details of the inquiry, including submissions and additional documents, are published on the committee's webpage.
1.7The committee held 3public hearings in Tasmania for the inquiry, asfollows:
14 October 2024, Currie, King Island;
13 November 2024, Hobart;and
14 November 2024, Longford.
1.8A list of witnesses that gave evidence at the hearings is available at Appendix2 of thisreport.
1.9The committee thanks all those that contributed to the inquiry by making submissions and giving evidence before the committee at publichearings.
Note on references
1.10All references to the Committee Hansard are to proof transcripts. Page numbers may differ between proof and officialtranscripts.
Structure of the report
1.11The remainder of the report is structured asfollows:
Chapter 2 – Overview and background;
Chapter 3 – Key issues raised in evidence;and
Chapter 4 – Committee view and recommendations.