North West Tasmania is one of the regions of Tasmania in Australia. The region comprises the whole of the north west, including the North West Coast and the northern reaches of the West Coast. It is usually accepted as extending as far south as the Pieman River and including the Savage River National Park within the Tarkine region. The region is characterised by its rugged beauty, from coastlines to agricultural lands. It is a key gateway for the ferry, which docks at Devonport.
North West Coast
The North West Coast is a region of Tasmania on the north coast of Tasmania to the west of Port Sorell, Tasmania. It includes towns such as Devonport, Burnie, Penguin, Smithton and Stanley. The water to the north is called Bass Strait. North-West and West Tasmania Area Profile July 2016
The gross regional product is $5.29 billion – the highest it has been in the last 10 years. In comparison, the gross regional product of Tasmania is $24,707 billion.
The youth unemployment rate is 12.0%. The national average is 12.2%.
The largest employment industries, accounting for 38.5% of the workforce, are manufacturing, retail trade and health care and social assistance.
Cradle Coast
The region is characterised by some as 'Cradle to Coast' as a reference to the World Heritage listed icon Cradle Mountain. The region stretches from the coastline inland to rugged mountain areas. The term Cradle Coast is also the name of a regional local government authority within this region - The Cradle Coast Authority which is a joint authority formed under the Tasmanian Local Government Act by the local government councils of Burnie City, Central Coast, Circular Head, Devonport City, Kentish, King Island, Latrobe, Waratah-Wynyard and West Coast. The Cradle Coast region comprises the combined areas of the CCA's participating councils. The CCA is governed by a two-tiered structure comprising two representatives from each participating council and a skills-based board of directors. The CCA was established by the nine Local Government Councils of North West Tasmania to represent and advocate the needs of the region. The CCA collaborates and facilitates a diverse range of projects and initiatives involving all tiers of government, industry and the community, by operating under three focus areas: Regional Economic Development, Natural Resource Management and Tourism.
The region was a site of particularly severe disruption during the autumn 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Two hospitals in Burnie, North West Regional Hospital and North West Private Hospital, were closed when an outbreak of the virus occurred among the staff. The emergency department at the NWRH was staffed by Australian Defence Force personnel for two weeks while the usual staff were under a mandatory 14 day quarantine after exposure to the virus. there had been at least 12 deaths from COVID-19 in the region, out of a total of 13 statewide.
