Tasmania may halve service hours at five service centres
The government of the Australian state of Tasmania has proposed reducing in-person customer service hours at five regional Service Tasmania centres. The changes may affect centres in Queenstown, Oatlands, Campbell Town, Currie and Whitemark, ABC News Australia reports.
The state government explained the proposal by a decline in visitor numbers. Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the decision was based on an analysis of two years of visitation data, which showed significantly lower demand than the current opening hours suggest. According to him, staff will not be dismissed or have their working hours reduced: existing employees in these regions will work remotely.
Proposed schedule
Under the plan, the centre in Oatlands may move from 25 to 20 hours of in-person service per week. In Queenstown, service hours are proposed to be reduced from 32.5 to 16 per week, and in Campbell Town from 25 to 16.5. In Whitemark on Flinders Island and Currie on King Island, in-person service hours may be cut from 20 to 10 per week.
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The Whitemark centre is the only Service Tasmania office on Flinders Island and currently operates two days a week. Flinders Island Mayor Rachel Summers, who previously worked in Service Tasmania customer service, expressed concern about the possible consequences for elderly people and residents without reliable internet access.
Concerns over digital accessibility
Summers noted that digital services may be convenient for some people, but not for everyone. According to her, government forms and information materials can be difficult to understand, and it is not always possible to verify by phone whether documents have been completed correctly.
The proposal was also criticised by Bass MP Jess Green, who represents the opposition. She said that once service hours are reduced, it will be difficult to restore them, while residents of Flinders and King islands have no alternative centres nearby. Consultations on the new schedule, including operating days and hours, are due to begin on Monday and continue until October 2.
