Jeremy Rockliff’s Liberals are recklessly racking up a massive energy debt, with no plans for how they’ll pay for it.
Less than six months after slashing Tasmania’s investment in Marinus to 17.7%, citing concerns about the increasing costs of the project and Tasmania’s ability to finance it, the Liberals yesterday committed to staying in the deal and therefore a $584 million investment in Marinus.
In contrast, Labor will exit under the contract clause negotiated by the government.
In November, TasNetworks announced an updated north-west transmission project cost from $800 million to $1.5 billion. Stage 1 of delivery is estimated to cost $950 million, and Stage 2 of the delivery is estimated to cost $550 million. The Liberals responded by slashing the north-west transmission project in half, rescoping the project which connected new generation and load as ‘Stage 2’, causing outcry from business, industry and generation proponents.
Given the Liberals yesterday announced they would now look for Hydro to invest in new wind projects, the question now is, where is the money coming from?
In September last year they could not afford to invest in Marinus, in November they could not afford to build north-west transmission. But now with the budget in even worse shape, they seem to be saying they will start building wind farms.
So where is the money coming from? The Tasmanian Budget has been blown with a record $600 million deficit this financial year and $6.1 billion worth of debt, with it expected to climb to $30 billion by 2035 on the current trajectory.
It’s one thing to say you will tell Hydro to start building new generation, it’s another to explain where the money is coming from.
Labor has a plan for this. By pulling out of Marinus, we open up almost $600 million for investment in new generation.
After 10 years in government and two consecutive elections where they have broken all of their energy promises, the Liberals can’t be trusted on energy.
Dean Winter MP
Shadow Minister for Energy
