Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I hope you will forgive my sympathy scarf and sympathy for the people in Tasmania suffering cold, shocking weather today. I'm on my feet because Tasmanians love snow. We flock to it. This winter we've seen very cold weather come to Tasmania in a very short amount of time, blanketing pockets of my electorate in the south with snow. Unfortunately, existing infrastructure often prevents people taking full advantage of the snow. Our roads, in particular, are stopping people from being able to access Tasmania's best snowfields. On Kunanyi, the mountain towering over Hobart, every winter we see snow cause road closures. The existing network is unsafe and too old to allow safe passage. If only we had a cable car.

In my electorate, the Derwent Valley has similar problems. Road closures are making some of our best snowfields inaccessible, damaging winter economies and isolating communities. The closure of the Lake Dobson Road two weekends ago, for instance, meant the Mount Field National Park and its popular ski field were not accessible. When people want to use the facilities, they can't get there. Derwent Valley tourism group co-founder and operator of Tassie Bound Adventure Tours Fiona Weaver says road closures mean communities are missing out on opportunities. Those sentiments are echoed by Rachel Power, co-owner of Waterfalls Cafe in Mount Field. My plea to the state government is: open some roads.