Senate votes for Tyrrell TFES inquiry

UPDATE: The Senate has voted in support of Senator Tammy Tyrrell's motion to establish a Senate Select Committee into the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES). 

Senator Tyrrell, who will chair the inquiry, said the Senate resolution was a huge win for Tasmanian businesses, farmers and industry.

"It's been a long time coming for Tassie!", Senator Tyrrell said following the vote.

"There's never been a Senate inquiry that's looked into the TFES in it's own right. Now there will be."

The motion to set up the committee passed with unanimous support from the Senate. 

Once established, the committee will hold public hearings across Tasmania. The committee will then deliver a report to the Government by 26 November 2024. 

EARLIER: Senator Tammy Tyrrell, Independent Senator for Tasmania, will today move to set up a Senate Select Committee into the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES). 

This will need a majority vote in the Senate to be established. The vote is expected to take place around 4pm.

 “The TFES isn’t helping businesses the way it’s supposed to," Senator Tyrrell said.

"On average it takes four months from when a business ships their produce to when they get money back from the TFES. How many small businesses do you know that can wait four months for an invoice to be paid?" 

“It’s now up to the eleven other Tasmanian Senators to back me in.”