| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 18 September 1998 |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Type | Government department |
| Jurisdiction | Tasmanian Government |
| Headquarters | 4 Salamanca Place, Hobart |
| Employees | 1,074 (30 June 2023) [1] |
| Annual budget | $1.444 billion (2023-24 FY) [2] |
| Ministers responsible |
|
| Department executive |
|
| Website | www |
The Department of State Growth is a Tasmanian Government department responsible for fostering economic growth and creating job opportunities within the state. The department plays a vital role in supporting diverse and sustainable economic development, benefiting the Tasmanian community.
The department is led by its Secretary, Craig Limkin. [3] Craig Limkin has extensive experience in public sector management, notably in New South Wales' Health and Treasury sectors. [4]
The department's responsibilities include: [5]
The department is divided into the following organisational groups: [6]
The department is responsible for the overseeing and reporting of the following boards and committees: [7] [8]
Hydro Tasmania generates electricity in Tasmania through hydropower, wind, and gas. It trades in the wholesale electricity and gas markets and in environmental energy products, selling retail electricity and gas in mainland states through its subsidiary, Momentum Energy. Hydro Tasmania's consulting arm, Entura, offers power engineering, renewable energy, water, and environment solutions.
The Motor Accidents Insurance Board (MAIB) operates the Tasmanian compulsory third-party personal injury insurance scheme. The scheme provides medical and income benefits on a no-fault basis to persons injured in motor accidents while enabling access to common law. MAIB also indemnifies vehicle owners or drivers who may have been negligent in a motor accident in which another person was injured.
Aurora Energy Pty Ltd provides electricity and gas retail services to more than 279,000 customers throughout mainland Tasmania. As part of its retail offering, Aurora Energy offers a range of electricity and gas products tailored to the needs of customers through tariffs, market contracts, and payment options. Aurora Energy is also responsible for the provision of metering services to its customers.
Metro Tasmania Pty Ltd provides passenger transport services in Tasmania. It operates public bus services in the urban centers of Hobart, Launceston, and Burnie.
TasNetworks undertakes the transmission and distribution of electricity and related activities, including connecting customers to the network. The business transmits electricity from generation sources in Tasmania to homes and businesses through its network of transmission towers, substations, and distribution powerlines, and it facilitates the transfer of electricity between Victoria and Tasmania via Basslink, the sub-sea interconnector. The business also provides telecommunications and technology services. TasNetworks is also the Tasmanian jurisdictional planner in the National Electricity Market.
TasPorts is responsible for eleven Tasmanian ports and the Devonport airport. TasPorts is a vertically integrated organization, providing a diverse range of operations and services around Tasmania. Ninety-nine percent of Tasmania's freight moves through TasPorts’ multi-port network.
TasRail is one of Tasmania's largest freight businesses, providing rail logistics services to Tasmania's heavy industries and freight forwarders. TasRail also provides bulk minerals and shiploading services to the west coast mining industry. Along with the provision of these services, it is responsible for managing and maintaining a safe and reliable rail network.
TT-Line Company Pty Ltd provides passenger, passenger vehicle, and freight services to and from Tasmania on its twin vessels, Spirit of Tasmania I and II.
The Macquarie Point Development Corporation Board is responsible for the remediation and redevelopment of the Macquarie Point land in accordance with the Intergovernmental Agreement.
The Marine and Safety Authority Board is responsible to the Minister for the performance by the Authority of its functions and ensuring that the business and affairs of the Authority are managed and conducted in accordance with sound commercial practice.
The Keystone Tasmania was established under the Building and Construction Industry Training Fund Act 1990 to facilitate quality training for the building and construction industry.
The Tasmanian Development and Resources Board supports industry development activities of the Department of State Growth. It provides independent advice to the Minister on matters relating to this portfolio and its associated responsibilities.
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Board determines the strategic direction of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in accordance with the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Act 2017.
Enables provision to the community of culturally enriching performing arts.
Stadiums Tasmania oversees the management and development of Tasmania's stadium assets and infrastructure.
The Council oversees advertising campaigns, makes recommendations about road safety policy, and guides the implementation of the Towards Zero Tasmanian Road Safety Strategy 2017–2026.
TTAC issues guidelines for vocational placements and training contracts and advises the Minister on these matters.
Advises the Premier on workforce development, supply, and training arrangements to support the tourism and hospitality businesses across Tasmania.
The department provides support to the following statutory authorities. [9]
The department was formed on 18 September 1998, from the amalgamation of Private Forests Tasmania, the Department of Transport, the Workplace Standards Authority and parts of other Government departments and was called the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources. [11]
On 1 July 2014, the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts was amalgamated with the department and the name changed to the Department of State Growth. [12]
Burnie is a port city located on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is the fourth largest city on the island, located approximately 325 kilometres (202 mi) north-west of the state capital of Hobart, 147 kilometres (91 mi) north-west of Launceston, and 47 kilometres (29 mi) west of Devonport. As of the 2021 census, Burnie has a population of 19,918, with a municipality area spanning 600 square kilometres (230 sq mi), administered by the City of Burnie. Founded in 1827 as Emu Bay, the township was renamed in the early 1840s after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, and proclaimed a city by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 April 1988.
Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or simply The Hydro, is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the main electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia. The Hydro was originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, due to Tasmania's dramatic topography and relatively high rainfall in the central and western parts of the state. Today, Hydro Tasmania operates thirty hydro-electric and one gas power station, and is a joint owner in three wind farms.
The Tasmanian Government or the Government of Tasmania is the executive branch of the Australian state of Tasmania. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania, is invited by the governor of Tasmania to form the executive. The governor appoints the premier of Tasmania.
The Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) is a government department within the Government of Tasmania with responsibility for Government schools, child and family learning centres, child safety and out of home care, youth justice services, libraries and the Tasmanian archives.
Bryan Alexander Green is a former Australian politician. He was the leader of the parliamentary Labor Party in Tasmania from 2014 to 2017, and a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly in the electorate of Braddon from 1998 to 2017.
Rail transport in Tasmania consists of a network of narrow gauge track of 1,067 mm reaching virtually all cities and major towns in the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Today, rail services are focused primarily on bulk freight, with no commercial passenger services being operated. The mainline railways of Tasmania are currently operated by TasRail, a Government of Tasmania-owned Corporation, who owns and maintains both rolling stock, locomotives, and track infrastructure.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania is the government department of the Tasmanian Government responsible for supporting primary industry development, the protection of Tasmania's natural environment, effective land and water management and the protection of Tasmania's relative disease and pest free status. NRE's responsibilities also include maintaining the security of land tenure, administration of much of the state's Crown lands and delivery of government services through Service Tasmania.
The Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (DIER) was the former name of the Tasmanian Government Department of State Growth. It reported to several ministers including Jim Cox and Michael Aird. On 1 July 2014, the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts was amalgamated with the department and the name was changed to the Department of State Growth.
Ombudsmen in Australia are independent agencies who assist when a dispute arises between individuals and industry bodies or government agencies. Government ombudsman services are free to the public, like many other ombudsman and dispute resolution services, and are a means of resolving disputes outside of the court systems. Australia has an ombudsman assigned for each state; as well as an ombudsman for the Commonwealth of Australia. As laws differ between states just one process, or policy, cannot be used across the Commonwealth. All government bodies are within the jurisdiction of the ombudsman.
The Department of Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts (DEPHA) was a government department of the Australian state of Tasmania, responsible for managing Tasmania's natural and cultural heritage.
The Brighton Transport Hub is an intermodal transport hub in the northern Hobart suburb of Brighton operated by TasRail.
TasRail is a Tasmanian Government state-owned enterprise that has operated the mainline railways in Tasmania since September 2009. It operates only freight services.
The Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts (DEDTA) was the Tasmanian Government department tasked with making Tasmania a prosperous, vibrant, and healthy community. The department's core mission was to lead industry and community development, implement marketing and development programs for Tasmanian tourism, and provide policy and planning for the arts and culture sectors.
Arts Tasmania is an agency of the Tasmanian State Government and is in the portfolio of the Tasmanian Minister for the Arts. Arts Tasmania is a part of the Tasmanian Department of State Growth.
The Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme is an Australian Government scheme to provide financial assistance to shippers of freight between Tasmania and mainland Australia. The scheme aims to assist in alleviating the sea freight cost disadvantage incurred by shippers of eligible non‐bulk goods moved between Tasmania and the mainland of Australia. It provides a freight subsidy to producers selling into Australian domestic markets, but not for exports outside of Australia.
Tasmanian Networks Pty Limited, trading as TasNetworks, is a Tasmanian Government State owned company that is responsible for electricity transmission and distribution throughout Tasmania. It also owns and operates a telecommunications network throughout the state.
In Australia the predominant term used for SOEs is government business enterprise (GBE). Various Australian states also have GBEs, especially with respect to the provision of water and sewerage, and many state-based GBEs were privatized in some states during the last decade of the twentieth century. Former Commonwealth SOEs include Telstra, established in the 1970s as Telecom Australia. Telstra, now Australia's largest telecommunications company, was privatised in 1997 by the Howard government. As of June 2010 Telstra owned a majority of the copper wire infrastructure in Australia and is pending sale to its former parent, the Australian government, for a non-binding amount of 11 billion Australian dollars, as ducts in the copper wire tunnels are needed to install the fibre optic cable. The Commonwealth Bank, as its name indicates, was also founded as public company before later being privatized.
Marinus Link is a proposed 750 megawatt capacity high voltage direct current (HVDC) electricity interconnector, to strengthen the connection between the Australian states of Tasmania and Victoria, on Australia's National Electricity Market. Due to inflation, Marinus link was scaled back from an initial plan of 1500 MW via two cables, down to 750 MW via one cable. It involves approximately 250 km of subsea cables and approximately 90 km of underground land cables. Marinus Link will also incorporate significant optical fibre capacity for system control, with the remaining capacity available to strengthen telecommunications and data connectivity between the regions. Marinus Link will be supported by approximately 220 km of high voltage alternating current (HVAC) of proposed transmission developments in North West Tasmania, known as the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD). Collectively, Marinus Link and the North West Transmission Developments are known as Project Marinus. In October 2022, authorities pledged loans for the project, as well as supporting facilities such as pumped hydro in Tasmania.
Tasmania, as an advanced economy with a globally high standard of living, uses a great deal of energy. Distinctive features of energy use in Tasmania include the high fraction of hydroelectricity usage, the absence of coal-fired electrical generation, relatively light usage of natural gas, particularly for domestic use, and a wide use of domestic wood-burning stoves. Energy production through hydroelectricity has been politically contentious, and conflicts over Tasmanian hydroelectric projects were integral to the formation of Green parties in Australia and across the world.
