Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to take note of the CSIRO annual report for 2009-10 and in so doing I wish to indicate that the Defence Science and Technology Organisation facility in Scottsdale in north-east Tasmania received some good news recently. An $18.7 million upgrade to that facility has been announced by the federal government. Of course, the initial announcement to upgrade that facility was made in April 2010. They bungled the tender process at that time and now we have to start again.

Of course we welcome this new development and the announcement of this tender, but we know that the work will not begin until late 2011 at the earliest. That is 18 months after what was originally promised. The people of north-east Tasmania are hurting at the moment. Unemployment is on the rise. The Gunns sawmill is closing at the end of this month and over 100 jobs will be lost directly in that community—that hurts.

There is the lesson that has been learnt. The government have been dilatory and have sat on their hands. They bungled the first tender process. I was in Scottsdale just a couple of weeks ago where there were representatives from the CSIRO at that facility. At that time the government announced the establishment of a new joint research centre in food innovation, drawing on the facilities and expertise of the University of Tasmania, CSIRO and the DSTO.

We do not know the detail, but that is great news. I am pleased about that because I made that suggestion in a letter that I wrote to the minister suggesting that the role of the DSTO Scottsdale facility in food production and research could be expanded. In this case it appears that the government has listened to the view set out in that letter and it can see that there is potential. There is huge potential. I am talking about big money investment in this centre. There is no commitment over the direct money amount to this new centre with the CSIRO. We do not know if it is all going to be based in Scottsdale, in Launceston at the university or at CSIRO in Hobart. We do not know the details. I know the local community is very keen to benefit from this new joint research centre. It certainly has the support of the local community. I hope that it can become a centre of excellence for all of Australia. I hope that we can talk about big money investment into this community—not just for research but also for production.

I would like to put on the record my extreme disappointment that this government have taken on a tender for the production of processed foods for our defence forces from a New Zealand company. It is so sad and disappointing that it has not gone to an Australian company and that the Scottsdale facility has not specifically benefited. The Scottsdale facility produces processed food for the Australian Defence Force, so we are missing out on an opportunity there.

In that letter I also made the suggestion that this food should be made available through our overseas aid program, whether it be for the Haiti earthquake, the Pakistan disaster or other places. In a time of need this is exactly the sort of the thing that the Scottsdale facility could provide for. I would hope that the government seizes with both hands this opportunity to create more jobs, growth and development in the north-east. I would like to see more detail about this joint research facility as soon as possible so that we can get things underway. They have been hurting. It is tough up there in the north-east. They need support from the federal government. This is a great way to provide it and I hope it happens as soon as possible. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.