death in a 2017 crash during a training exercise<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/419e1e4a24d7e6fd9fd1a4ae884f8124\")
<\/p>\n
Rotor-Lift’s owner says the tender process was “very poorly executed” and her company was “not been consulted once”. (Supplied: Rotorlift Aviation)<\/p>\n
While the government said StarFlight offered the best value for money, Ms Corbin was critical of that.<\/p>\n
She said for Rotor-Lift to continue operating as they are over the next 12 years would cost the government $200 million, but the government’s tender \u2014 which Ms Corbin labelled “overcooked” \u2014 called for new helicopters with greater capabilities.<\/p>\n
“We need to upgrade and modernise the fleet, for sure.<\/p>\n
“Do we need to do it right now, when the state is in such a dire financial state? No,” Ms Corbin said.<\/p>\n
She claimed the whole tender process was “very poorly executed” and “Rotor-Lift had not been consulted once”.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been treated like the enemy for five years,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We’ve provided a Versace service at a Kmart price.<\/p>\n
“Not one day have we not been ready to go on a job. Every moment that phone has rung, we have been ready to go.”<\/p>\n
![\"Rotor-lift](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6241ea9741397969c1dece61560fc4f1\")
<\/p>\n
Rotor-Lift has operated Tasmania’s search and rescue helicopter fleet for around 25 years. (Supplied: Rotorlift Aviation)<\/p>\n
Rotor-Lift partnered with Toll to put in a tender process but ultimately lost out.<\/p>\n
It’s understood the Department of Health asked Rotor-Lift to resubmit its costings earlier this year as they were outside expectations.<\/p>\n
‘Incredible lift in capability’<\/p>\n
Health Minister Bridget Archer said the tender process was done in an “open and competitive” way.<\/p>\n
“I’m disappointed if that’s the way the company feels,” she said.<\/p>\n
“But I do think it’s really important … and I would expect that procurement would be done in a way that is open and competitive which this has been.<\/p>\n
“I’d like to thank Rotorlift aviation for the service that they have provided here in Tasmania for over two decades.”<\/p>\n
Mr Webster acknowledged it was a “lift in price” but said it was an “incredible lift in capability”.<\/p>\n
“We believe we’ve come up with a contract that is value for money for Tasmanians, returns social and economic benefit to Tasmanians and importantly lifts the capability of our fleet,” he said.<\/p>\n
The new service will be based at Cambridge aerodrome from a state government-run aerobase that is yet to be built.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/37b07148b80bc54ac958039f03314838\")
<\/p>\n
The $354 million, 12-year contract\u00a0will start in January 2026.\u202f\u00a0 (Supplied: StarFlight)<\/p>\n
While they are still negotiating the lease price, Mr Webster said it’ll be around $2.1 million a year.<\/p>\n
“[It] will be fit for this purpose, but also will mean that should we get to the end of 12 years and StarFlight are not continuing, we have a base that we can continue the new services in,” he said.<\/p>\n
Rotor-Lift currently owns and operates its own base, something the government was keen to move away from.<\/p>\n
Employees to be considered for new contractor![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/d08f7c98a40f4bf3f168fe642d006f45\")
<\/p>\n
Tasmania Police praised the new helicopters’ enhanced capabilities. (Supplied: StarFlight)<\/p>\n
StarFlight is Australia’s largest aeromedical service and a not-for-profit enterprise.<\/p>\n
Director Jim Elder said the company would be “turning over every stone” to make sure it was a successful operation.<\/p>\n
“We’re going to bring in new aircraft, new personnel, we’re going to look at training opportunities here in Tasmania through an academy, we’re looking at apprenticeships, engineering jobs and looking to use local highly skilled people as we bring them through the system,” Mr Elder said.<\/p>\n
“Our commitment to Tasmania \u2026 is to make sure all Tasmanians get the service and opportunity that they deserve in terms of the medical services.”<\/p>\n
As for staffing, he said the company would be looking at “everyone who is currently employed”.<\/p>\n
‘The freezing level’<\/a><\/p>\nFor the rescue crews tasked with finding those hikers caught out in Tasmania’s high country, their greatest challenge is the island state’s unpredictable and volatile weather.<\/p>\n
Acting Tasmania Police Commissioner Jonathan Higgins also praised the new helicopters’ enhanced capabilities, saying the new technology will help them to do their jobs in search and rescue more effectively.<\/p>\n
“[For example] using the infrared cameras to better find those missing walkers that we seem to have quite regularly here in Tasmania now,” he said.<\/p>\n
“[Or] those rescues that might be out at sea, off the yachts and the boats.”<\/p>\n
Acting Commissioner Higgins said in terms of aerial law enforcement, the new mission management systems will be a significant enhancement.<\/p>\n
“They’ll be able to track them from a greater distance above and more effectively with the mapping systems in place, guiding our on-the-ground staff in to perform these tasks,” he said.<\/p>\n
Rotor-Lift’s contract ends in January.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The owner of Tasmanian aviation rescue service Rotorlift says she is “devastated” to lose the government contract after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[71836,4828,3895,11964,36506,2494,43,4892,71838,1679,44,84,71835,71834,71837,2177,2801,41,39,42,40,8420],"class_list":["post-98020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-allana-corbin","tag-assistance","tag-contract","tag-disaster","tag-emergency","tag-funding","tag-headlines","tag-helicopter","tag-lindsay-fox","tag-medicine","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-roger-corbin","tag-rotorlift","tag-starflight","tag-state","tag-tasmania","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-westpac"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}