The new Tasmanian ‘chocolate experience’, including the world’s largest chocolate fountain, as envisaged by premier Jeremy Rockliff (Rockliff's Social Media)

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has announced that his re-election would bring the newest touristic site to the country: the world's largest chocolate fountain.

During a visit to the Cadbury chocolate factory in Tasmania, Rockliff pitched the idea calling it "the greatest thing to happen to tourism since Mona [Museum of Old and New Art]".

His vision includes the largest chocolate fountain, a premium chocolate studio, a chocolate lab with a make-your-own chocolate bar, a chocolate emporium, a café, a playground, and more, to create the absolute "experience".

Rockliff added that it would be located next to the Cadbury chocolate factory, a strategic decision to boost tourism and add value to the production of the factory. Rockliff said that Cadbury produces 200 million chocolate bars with 450 employees. The new state-owned project intends to expedite the existing production while magnifying tourism.

“Once again we will reignite the wonderful tours that many thousands of Tasmanians can well remember with great fondness and with great affection,” he said.

The base financial plan encompasses $12 million to turn this project into a reality: $2 million would go to design expenditures and another $2 million for construction. The remaining $8 million would be allocated to "unspecified activities".

Tourism "pioneer" Simon Currant told the Apple Isle that the chocolate project was a result of 15 years of research in collaboration with Cadbury and would cost $100 million.

The project is not just a chocolate fairytale dream, it is intended to uplift Tasmania's tourism since public tours were stopped in 2008 due to health and safety restrictions.

The old Cadbury tours hold a very special place in the hearts of many Tasmanians, mine included.
That absolute joy of visiting with your family, and coming home with pockets full of Cadbury chocolate.
Well, we're going to invest in a marvellous creation of our own. pic.twitter.com/uW1qlzX8yc
— Jeremy Rockliff (@jeremyrockliff) March 9, 2024

The opposition comments

Opposition Labor leader Rebecca White expressed enthusiasm regarding the project itself but shared concerns about the transparency of decisions related to it, adding that the government would have to answer these questions.

“The Labor party has already announced a $50m no-interest loans program that would be eligible for operators in the visitors economy to apply to and I would welcome the proponents of the Cadbury visitor experience to make an application under our program,” she said.

She also added that when dealing with the public's tax money and how it is being utilized, transparency is key, noting that this would help avoid previous incidents, namely the New Norfolk distillery, in which the Liberal Party made commitments and was unable to explain the criteria for applications.

In 2023, a Liberal minister motioned for a $1.2 million grant going toward the New Norfolk distillery to turn into a private application. Questions were raised by the public, and the matter was further pushed when a major news outlet, the independent Tasmanian MLC Meg Webb, said the money should be allocated towards more pressing governmental services like healthcare.

“That [$12m] is a huge amount of money when you think about the ways it could be spent in areas that are absolutely screaming out for government support and are actually government responsibilities,” Webb said.