The new Spirits should be operating from Devonport by now, but because of the Government’s incompetence and mismanagement, Tasmanians are paying for them to sit on the other side of the world with nowhere to operate from.

Premier Rockliff claims hiding the ships in Scotland will minimise the cost to the Tasmanian taxpayers, but he refuses to outline what that cost is.

We don’t know how much Tasmanians are paying not to have their ships, but we’re supposed to believe it’s the cheapest option. The Spirits fiasco has been marred by a serious lack of openness and transparency so Tasmanians can be forgiven for not taking the Premier at his word.

Tasmanians are also in the dark about the repairs to Spirit V after it was damaged in a storm recently. What is the extent of the damage? How far back will it push the build? And at what cost?

With the new Spirits stuck in Europe, it raises the question of what has happened to the Government’s promise for $100 million in economic activity for Tasmanian businesses. How can the fit out occur if the new ships aren’t in Tasmania?

As the TCCI said, it has become glaringly obvious that there are significant cultural and leadership issues in the Tasmanian Government and Government Businesses involved with the project. Business groups have called for more oversight of the Berth 3 project and the public are beyond fed up with the whole fiasco.

The Liberals need constant supervision on this project and that’s why Labor will seek to establish a Parliamentary Committee to oversee the project until the boats are finally sailing out of the Mersey.

Labor will continue to push for answers and hold the Liberal minority government to account for their delivery of Tasmania’s most important infrastructure project, which has turned into a global embarrassment.

Luke Edmunds MLC
Shadow Minister for Finance