The Tasmanian Government is supporting an additional Bass Island Line (BIL) sailing to King Island this Friday to assist farmers and producers managing their livestock through the ongoing dry seasonal conditions.
Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Jane Howlett, said the Government-supported sailing will help address increased demand for cattle transport as King Island farmers destock.
“We will always back our farmers, rural communities and the farming families that rely on them,” Minister Howlett said.
“Earlier this year the Government took strong action to help our farmers through an important $4.8 million package of drought support measures, part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.
“This included $1.5 million to support additional sailings for the Bass Strait Islands and mainland Tasmania to provide shipping support such as this and $900,000 for rebates for Bass Strait Island livestock primary producers for on-farm water infrastructure to help build drought resilience.
“I will be visiting King Island again next week where I look forward to hearing from farmers first-hand about their experience of the conditions.
“The Government also continues to help King Island producers prepare and make decisions early for seasonal conditions, such as through the TAS Farm Innovation Hub drought reflection and resilience planning workshop, to be held on 12 December.”
Since mid-October, BIL’s regular services have been at capacity due to heightened cattle movements, with demand continuing to rise into December.
The drought assistance funding support has enabled this one-off sailing to occur, with only cattle trailers on this voyage.
This additional sailing was also made possible with cooperation from processor JBS, which has worked with TasPorts and its subsidiary BIL to consolidate bookings from farmers to ensure sufficient freight volumes.
TasPorts CEO Anthony Donald welcomed the funding support from the Tasmanian Government and acknowledged the importance of this service during a challenging period.
“Bass Island Line exists to connect and support regional communities, and this additional sailing is a tangible demonstration of our commitment to the community and our customers,” Mr Donald said.
“By bringing forward this service to arrive in Grassy on Friday, we’re ensuring farmers have the vital logistics and support they need to manage their operations in the face of drought conditions.
“Bass Island Line worked with its customer JBS to understand and put forward a case to the Tasmanian Government that has ultimately enabled the movement of cattle off Island that would not have been viable without the Tasmanian Government’s support.
“I want to acknowledge the Tasmanian Government’s support for this service and thank our customer JBS, who assisted in responding to the needs of the King Island community.”
Further discussions are also underway to explore similar demand-based sailings in 2025 to support freight movements to address seasonal challenges.
The Tasmanian Government continues to monitor seasonal conditions and its response including across the Bass Strait Islands.
