The Rockliff-Ferguson
Government and out-of-his-depth Energy Minister Guy Barnett need to come to the
table today with their plan around Project Marinus and clarification about
whether Tasmanian households will foot the $3.8 billion price tag.
With the Australian Energy
Market Operator today reporting the project must be built as quickly as
possible, it’s time for the Liberal Government to detail its plan, with costs
blowing out to almost $4 billion but Tasmanians are none the wiser about who
will pay for Project Marinus.
Tasmania has a big opportunity
to play a central role in the national transition to renewables with Marinus
but with other states to be the major beneficiaries, Tasmanian taxpayers should
not be hit with the significant costs attached to the project.
By Mr Barnett’s own
calculations, only six per cent of Marinus’ benefits are expected to flow to
Tasmania.
The Rockliff-Ferguson’s
Government’s plan to focus entirely on the project has already cost each
Tasmanian household $227 in increased power bills next year alone, after they
broke their promise to de-link from the NEM, so that they could try to build
Marinus.
Mr Barnett can no longer push ahead pretending everything is fine and must reveal the fine detail of his actual plan and how much Tasmanian taxpayers will be slugged.
Dean Winter MP
Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction
