Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to congratulate the Southern Midlands Council, in my electorate of Lyons—in particular, general manager Tim Kirkwood, mayor Tony Bisdee, deputy mayor Alex Green and all of the council—on their successful application to the National Stronger Regions Fund. The project involves refurbishing the Oatlands Commissariat building, one of the oldest buildings in the historic town of Oatlands. Built in 1827, it is currently a derelict building in the middle of the main street of Oatlands. It was the storehouse for the convict settlement—as it was at that time.

The point I would like to make particularly is that the Southern Midlands Council applied to the first round of the Stronger Regions Fund and were unsuccessful. But, with constructive engagement with the department, identifying those areas in their application where they were deficient in what is a very, very competitive process, they had success in round 2. I sincerely congratulate them.

Three hundred and nine thousand dollars has been contributed to a total project cost of $620,000, which I think was able to be achieved because of the changes that were made from round 1 to round 2 to have an amount of money quarantined there for projects under $1 million. This has absolutely benefited small councils in regional areas of Australia such as my electorate of Lyons. The project will include an integrated skills hub which will have uses for the building that will include a trade training centre, a heritage consultancy branch, conference facilities, community offices, a shopfront selling products of the trade students who will be engaged in projects there, and a disadvantaged youth program.

Indeed, Tasmania as a state has more historic sites per capita than any other state in the country. Approximately 40 per cent of the registered sites in Australia are located within Tasmania. Oatlands itself is a town that has a very high proportion of Georgian built sandstone buildings. The construction will begin in May 2016 and is expected to be completed in stages by the beginning of 2018.

I would encourage other councils—and there were other projects in my electorate that applied to the second round that were unsuccessful—to take the lead of the Southern Midlands Council, engage with the department, look at where their applications were deficient—in what, as I say, is a very competitive process—and reapply in round 3.