Secure Tasmania's Major Industrial Jobs

The Petition of the undersigned Tasmanian Residents draw to the attention of the House:

Tasmania's publicly owned hydro-electricity system was built to power our state, support major industries and keep Tasmanians in secure, well-paid jobs.

The closure of Liberty Bell Bay cost more than 200 workers and many more contractors their livelihoods. It has delivered a devastating blow to Northern Tasmania.

It shows what happens when government fails to act responsibly before a major industrial site reaches the point of closure.

Tasmania cannot afford for that failure to be repeated.

Bell Bay Aluminium, Nyrstar Hobart, Norske Skog Boyer and Liberty Bell Bay support thousands of workers, apprentices, contractors, businesses and families across Tasmania.

Their future depends on reliable, globally competitive energy, new generation and a government prepared to act before it is too late.

Bell Bay Aluminium urgently needs a fair and reasonable long-term power agreement.

Its loss would devastate Northern Tasmania and increase power costs for households and businesses across the state.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to:

Call on the Tasmanian Government to urgently intervene to secure a fair, globally competitive and long-term power agreement for Bell Bay Aluminium; pursue every viable option to secure a future for Liberty Bell Bay; ensure Tasmania's publicly owned energy businesses prioritise existing Tasmanian jobs and major industries; secure the long-term future of Tasmania's remaining major industrial sites; and deliver the new energy generation required to prevent any further industrial closures.