Estimates - Transport - Active Transport Funding
CHAIR - Right, thank you. Minister, you've released today another active transport strategy. Active transport is a key action in many existing government strategies across a range of portfolios, so it's very welcome, but where is the money in the government's Budget for active transport measures?
Mr VINCENT - I will ask for some clarification from the deputy secretary in a moment, but in most cases it is a natural part of when we're doing a project now that the linkages with active transport is in that. There is, I believe, an amount in the Budget now which is the last year of the present program and future programs will be looked at, but I will ask for clarification from the deputy secretary.
Ms HEYDON - There was a $10 million active transport program which is now fully committed with final spends this year against the Algona pedestrian bridge that we'll be installing. That's essentially the commitment of this program. The release of the guidelines and other documents today reflect where we're moving to in relation to corridor planning and that active transport is part of our corridor planning, and that's the approach we've taken with Algona. We intended to have it through there and seek funding sources both through the state and federal governments for active transport. The guidelines are for State Growth as well as for councils for how they design and consider active transport outcomes in any projects.
CHAIR - One could argue that the funding for Algona should have come from the infrastructure project itself, but that's not really a question, it's just a statement.
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CHAIR - Minister, according to the Infrastructure Tasmania website, the Better Active Transport Grants Program - action item number 2.3.4 in the climate change action plan - will run annually for over four years. According to the Department of Transport website, $17.5 million was committed by your government for Better Active Transport in Tasmania and Better Active Transport in Greater Hobart. Only two rounds of those grant programs have been offered. The most recent closed in 2024. The total amount dispersed through those grants was only $9 million, or around half the amount. Minister, why isn't your government delivering on the funding you committed for this important program?
Mr VINCENT - I might need to seek a little bit more on that, secretary, if you've got all those details.
Ms HEYDON - Through you, minister, that reference includes funding that is above the $10 million I referred to earlier, but we will get a breakdown for you of the $17.5 million and the allocation of those funds.
CHAIR - Do I need to put that on notice?
Ms HEYDON - No. We'll be able to get that today.
CHAIR - Thank you very much.
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CHAIR - Minister, the Australian Government has announced that the Active Transport Fund is being made ongoing with $50 million each year - which in some ways doesn't go as far as you'd really want it to go - however. This is an application based merit assessed funding program with state government applications needing to co-contribute 50 per cent funding. Active transport usage provides myriad benefits to the user but also benefits other road users when people have the choice to not use the car, and we talked a little bit about that yesterday. How is the government planning for this available funding to meet modal shift demand so that all the urban road upgrade benefits this government continues to progress in our major cities aren't for nothing?
Mr VINCENT - I'll just ask for a bit of clarification on the broadness of that question from the deputy secretary.
Ms HEYDON - Through you, minister, in relation to any funding available from the federal government, as I mentioned earlier, we're looking at our projects from a corridor perspective, and including active transport in those asks for federal projects. If that includes introducing, let's - I won't say cocktail funding arrangements but essentially identifying where we could use funding for active transport, that's part of the project through that funds, that's what we will be doing.
CHAIR - That's not really helping, necessarily, communities. I'm curious to know how that might tie in with the requirements of local government. That ultimately should be part of a project, should be considered, and I thought that's what you were hinting at when we talked about this previously, minister, in relation to making sure that those active transport things are part of the major works. But what about those other active transport opportunities for local government as well?
Ms HEYDON - Through you, minister, we do, and part of the release of the documents today is working with councils on guidelines to help them with making submissions through to the federal government for their active transport projects and giving them guidelines that are essentially up to some of the highest expectations and standards around the design [inaudible 12.03.16]. Part of what we're doing is how we help local governments in making their bids for federal funding, which they do, and they do active and direct requests to the federal government for those fundings.