Barnett fails again at his own portfolio

Tasmanian Labor

Energy Minister Guy Barnett has demonstrated once again how
out of depth he is in his own portfolio.

I asked Mr Barnett in Question Time this morning for
confirmation that the Gutwein government had been offered an agreement on
Marinus Link by the Federal Government but had rejected it.

Mr Barnett gave a typically meandering response that went
nowhere near answering this simple question.

It was unclear if Mr Barnett even knew about the offer
since Premier Peter Gutwein appears to be now running the portfolio himself.

The government must come clean about whether it has
rejected an offer from the Australian Government in relation to Project
Marinus. What was in the offer?

The energy portfolio is critical to Tasmania’s future and
it deserves a Minister who is across all aspects of it.

Mr Barnett has shown time and time again that he is not
this person and if he is unable to stay up to date on such an important project
as Marinus Link, then he is clearly not up to the job.

People and businesses need energy security confidence to
continue to invest in Tasmania, and under Minister Barnett they don’t have
this.

If Guy Barnett can’t deliver what Tasmania needs to provide that confidence, perhaps Peter Gutwein needs to find an Energy Minister who can.

Dean Winter MP

Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction

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