Newly re-elected Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has unveiled the state’s new ministry.
Felix Ellis has been reappointed as the Tasmanian Minister for Resources, a position he held from July 2022 to April 2024. The portfolio will now be known as ‘Business, Industry and Resources’.
Ellis will also retain his Skills and Jobs and Police, Fire and Emergency Management portfolios, both of which he has held since July 2022.
First elected to Parliament in August 2020, Ellis said he was “humbled to be re-appointed” to these portfolios for the next four years.
Nick Duigan will remain the Tasmanian Minister for Energy and Renewables, having served the portfolio since October 2023.
Rockliff described his new Cabinet as a combination of “wealth of experience to deliver on the things that matter most to Tasmanians”.
“We are getting on with the job for Tasmanians,” Rockliff said. “Tasmanians have voted, and we must respect the will of the people.”
The appointments follow the Tasmanian Government issuing a $7.5 million loan to Group 6 Metals (G6M) to help stabilise operations at its Dolphin tungsten mine on King Island.
The financial support followed the Tasmanian Government’s recent conversion of a $10 million loan into equity, giving it a 12 per cent stake in G6M.
Dolphin officially re-opened in August 2023, after being closed for three decades. While the operation did break numerous monthly records last year, recent challenging global conditions has impacted production.
Tungsten is one of several critical minerals Tasmania has high prospectivity of. Others include lithium, titanium and rare earths.
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