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FACT SHEET
Metro Tasmania Amendment Bill 2018
This Bill has three components.
1. To amend the Metro Tasmania Act 1997 (the Act) to allow Metro Tasmania P/L to
operate a ferry service and any other mode of passenger transport service;
2. To rescind the Fares Order provisions in the Act; and
3. To include a requirement for a Members/Shareholders Statement of Expectations and
the requirement to follow all Treasurer’s Instructions issued under the Government
Business Enterprises Act 1995 and amend the portfolio Acts of all other State-owned
Companies to ensure consistency in relation to the Members/Shareholders Statement of
Expectations and Treasurer’s Instructions.
1. Amendment to allow Metro to operate any form of public transport
The Government has committee to the development of a Derwent River ferry service from
Hobart CBD to Bellerive.
The purpose of the Metro Tasmania Amendment Bill 2018 is firstly to allow Metro Tasmania P/L
(Metro) the powers to provide a ferry passenger service in addition to its current objective to
provide road passenger transport services only. This Bill removes any restrictions on Metro on
the type of passenger transport service it can operate, thereby enabling Metro to lead
development of a ferry service.
The Government’s intention is for a future ferry service to be operated by Metro, in order to
best support development of an integrated transport service. The amendments to the Act
provided by this Bill increase the service delivery options available. However, the Bill does not
exclude other options, or models, should these prove to be capable of meeting the
Government’s expectations with regard to integration of services.
2. Rescission of Fares Order
The Bill further rescinds Part 3A of the Act relating to Fares Orders. This section related to the
regulation of full adult fares only, leading to an inconsistent approach to setting fares. The Metro
Fares Order specifies the maximum prices that may be charged by Metro in respect of adult
travel on urban bus services. The actual fares, within the maximum, are set by Metro.
Metro urban fares for concession passengers, Metro non-urban fares, and fares for all passenger
categories travelling on services provided by other operators, are set administratively through
each of the operator’s contracts with the Department of State Growth.
The separate fare setting systems have meant that historical disparities in fare levels between the
urban and non-urban areas have continued to be embedded, resulting in a significant ‘step-up’ in
price for people travelling beyond the urban boundary.
The current Public Transport Bus Services Procurement Review (Project 2018) is considering
options to resolve the inconsistency in fare levels. A transparent process for preparing the fare
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schedule, annual indexation provisions and fare review mechanism will be the subject of a future
submission to Cabinet before the contracts commence.
This change will not lessen the oversight, obligations or accountability of Metro as a State-owned
Company.
3. Governance Consistency
The Government business portfolio is comprised of State-owned Companies (such as Metro)
and Government Business Enterprises. State-owned Companies are established under
Corporations Law through their respective portfolio legislation. Government Business Enterprises
are established under the Government Business Enterprises Act 1995 through their respective
portfolio Act.
Even though Government businesses are established under two different frameworks, there is a
general expectation that they operate, as far as possible, under governance frameworks that are
as similar as possible.
To date, this has been achieved administratively through the use of Shareholders’ Statements of
Expectations, Treasurer’s Instructions, directions and common Guidelines.
In practice, a Members’/Shareholders’ Statement of Expectation has been prepared and issued
for each State-owned Company. However, there is only a legislative requirement for it to be
prepared for the three most recently created State-owned Companies: Tasmanian Irrigation,
Tasracing and Tasmanian Railway.
To improve clarity and remove this inconsistency, it is proposed that:
the portfolio legislation of all State-owned Companies be amended as a consequential
amendment included in the proposed legislation to include a requirement for a
Members’/Shareholders’ Statement of Expectations and the requirement to follow all
Treasurer’s Instructions issued under the Government Business Enterprises Act 1995.
the portfolio Acts of the following State-owned Companies be amended to ensure
consistency in relation to the Members’/Shareholders’ Statement of Expectations and
Treasurer’s Instructions:
o Electricity Companies Act 1997 ;
o TT-Line Arrangements Act 1993; and
o Tasmanian Ports Corporation Act 2005.
The application of Treasurer’s Instructions to State-owned Companies is not without precedent.
Currently, Treasurer’s Instructions relating to Income Tax equivalents and Government guarantee
fees apply to all State-owned Companies by virtue of specific provisions in their respective
portfolio legislation, and Tasmanian Irrigation is required to follow all relevant Treasurer’s
Instructions.
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