The West Coast Council has plenty more to achieve on health and education if its aim of "a fair go" for residents is to be achieved. Statistics presented in the council's draft 2022-23 annual report show how far the West still has to go. For example, a 2019 health survey showed 12.1 per cent of Tasmanians were smokers. The West Coast rate in the annual report was 39 per cent. The same survey found 21.1 per cent of Tasmanians rated their health as fair or poor, compared with 44.4 per cent of West Coasters. A push to firm up and expand medical services in the isolated area continues. Cr Kerry Graham said the Liveable Communities Advisory Committee had partly narrowed its focus to concentrate on primary health service delivery in the municipality "as council redoubles its efforts to secure adequate healthcare provision for West Coast residents". "The LCAC understands that availability of accessible, high-quality, well-resourced health and medical services are a key priority for our community," Cr Graham said. "The LCAC and council have continued to strongly advocate for the provision of services of an acceptable standard for the West Coast region." Mayor Shane Pitt and outgoing council general manager David Midson said the council had made significant progress with some of its advocacy efforts, "where council has continued to fight for a fair go for West Coasters". "The financial year saw the announcement of strategic regional partnerships, of which the West Coast is the first," they said. "The aim of these partnerships is to work with industry and the state government to resolve issues facing our communities and we hope this will be the vehicle for real change for West Coasters." They said the council and the state government worked together during the year to provide training funds and scholarships. That helped people gain qualifications in various fields, including tourism, childcare and education. The council managed a record spend on infrastructure, although the pair said there was still much to do to get infrastructure to the level the community desired. "The financial year saw our full mountain bike trails network open, and it has been great to see the change it is bringing to our towns," they said. "We also had Bay of Fires and The Bridge filmed on the West Coast, cementing our place as a great location for screen production and providing a great economic boost to our region." The council recorded a surplus of $2.37 million on continuing operations for the year.