In a Monday morning shocker on ABC radio, Treasurer Michael Ferguson admitted he has no idea how much Jeremy Rockliff’s Mac Point stadium will cost Tasmanians.
While the Treasurer said the Liberals would manage the project to “within an inch of its life”, when asked if he thought the stadium could be built within its $715 million budget he was at pains to point out that this figure was only the “most recent cost estimate”.
This is the same Treasurer who was forced to admit that he didn’t request a GST exemption for the project, a mistake which looks to mean Tasmania will lose almost all of the $240 million it was promised by the Australian government for Macquarie Point.
This is the same Treasurer who was also forced to admit he didn’t seek any advice from his department about the financial risks of writing a blank cheque for a project with no detailed costs in a construction environment where prices are consistently doubling and even tripling.
Given the blunder after blunder we’ve seen from the Liberals throughout this stadium debacle, and the lack of proper process and detail, how can Tasmanians have any faith in Jeremy Rockliff and Michael Ferguson’s ability to manage the project?
The stadium is not a matter of enthusiasm or ambition, as the Premier wants Tasmanians to believe. It’s a matter of engineering and finance, and on these measures, the Liberals are failing miserably.
Shane Broad MP
Shadow Treasurer
