The state government has announced it will establish a new body called Beer Tasmania to support independent brewers across northern Tasmania following the Boag’s Brewery closure.
Beer Tasmania will be funded partly from now-returned government money previously given to Lion to keep the Boag’s visitor centre open, as the first in a series of economy-boosting measures for the region.
The initiative is a collaboration with the Independent Brewers Association and will develop a northern beer trail and a northern beer weekend to showcase local brewers and attract visitors.
The government says initial research suggests the body could create 150 jobs and deliver up to $10 million in economic activity for Tasmania.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the region’s independent brewers had earned strong reputations.
“From Little Rivers to Du Cane, we have independent brewers across the region that have built strong reputations,” he said.
“Beer Tasmania will take this work to the next level by drawing visitors, strengthening awareness and backing local jobs.”
The announcement comes after Lion announced in June it would stop brewing beer in Launceston from November, moving production to mainland breweries in Queensland and New South Wales.
The closure will cost 42 jobs directly.
The Launceston City Council estimated up to 150 people would be affected and the local economy would lose around $30 million.
The decision prompted a union campaign calling on Lion to sell the brewery rather than shut it down.
The government also announced $200,000 for Business Events Tasmania to bring more conferences to the north, expected to generate $6 million in economic activity.
“For every $1 spent attracting business events, $30 is returned to the local economy,” Rockliff said.
Both announcements follow the government’s Northern Tasmania Economic Summit in July, which brought together business, community and political leaders after a run of closures and departures in the region.
“We have listened to feedback and developed the first tranche of economy-boosting initiatives,” Rockliff said.
A broader Northern Economic Plan and further investments are expected at the end of August.
In response to today’s announcement, Labor MP Ella Haddad described the initiatives as “too little too late”.
“It won’t be very much comfort to those Boag’s workers who are losing their jobs and whose families relied on those jobs,” she said.
“They’re facing great uncertainty at the moment.”
Asked what Labor would have done differently to save Boag’s, Haddad said her party “would have come to the table a lot sooner”.
“The premier and his ministers made it clear that Boag’s and those jobs were not a priority for them,” she said.
“They dragged their feet and they didn’t provide the support that the workforce there and the northern economy deserved in terms of maintaining that industry for northern Tasmania.”
