Tasmanian Labor has said it supports Marinus if it is in the best interests of Tasmania. Today’s announcement means more Chris Bowen and less Guy Barnett – and that is the best news Project Marinus could hope for after 10 years of non-delivery by the Tasmanian Liberals.
This month marks 10 years since the Tasmanian Liberal Party first announced it would build a second interconnector. In the following decade the Liberals have laid no cable, have no approvals, scrapped their own funding deal and still cannot answer basic questions about what the impact will be on Tasmanians’ energy bills.
Now, Guy Barnett and Jeremy Rockliff have effectively been stripped of responsibility for delivering Marinus. It is a nationally significant project and it needs serious people delivering it.
Under the arrangements, Tasmania relinquished nearly half its equity share to the Australian Government because Tasmania’s budget could no longer afford it. That is clear in the letter to the Prime Minister.
Tasmania will pay less because it will own less. The Victorian and Australian Government’s will own 82.3% of the asset. Tasmania’s liability will be 17.7% of $3.3 billion which is almost $600m. On top of that Tasmania still retains responsibility for building the north west transmission line which we believe will cost between $1 and $1.5 billion – but which the government is refusing to provide an update on.
The fact is, Tasmanians remain on the hook for $2 billion to deliver Marinus – and Jeremy Rockliff’s refusal to be honest about these costs is deeply concerning.
The Premier and the Energy Minister should outline exactly what the real upfront cost of the total project is, whether Tasmania’s reduced ownership share means more of the revenue will go to the mainland, and most importantly, what the ongoing impact on Tasmanians’ power bills will be.
Dean Winter MP
Shadow Minister for Energy and Renewables
