Labor will move to establish a short parliamentary inquiry to get to the bottom of the mess surrounding the delivery of the new Spirit of Tasmania vessels.
The Spirits replacement is the largest and most significant infrastructure project in the state’s history – yet as Labor uncovered in parliament, it’s being grossly mishandled by the Liberals.
Through questioning the government, Labor discovered that TT-Line handed over an extra $80 million to Finnish shipbuilder RMC for the vessels despite previously stating the contract was fixed-price. TT-Line also waived penalty payments for late delivery, leading to a further financial loss for Tasmania.
If Labor didn’t ask questions, this critical information – which is absolutely in the public’s interest – would never have come to light.
However despite being able to shed much needed light on the Liberals handling of this project, plenty of questions still remain – including;
- How much will the ships actually cost the Tasmanian taxpayer?
- When will they be in service?
- What is going on with the Devonport Port upgrades, which are critical to the ships operation but have had the tender documents torn up?
- What has happened to the promises of $100 million of local content, which includes a significant refuelling commitment?
Respected, independent economist Saul Eslake has estimated that every year the new vessels are delayed there will be a cost to the Tasmanian economy of $350 million, and 6,000 jobs will not be created. The ships are already three years late.
With so much riding on this project, Tasmanians deserve to know the answers. That’s why we’ll be moving to establish a parliamentary inquiry.
Dean Winter MP
Labor Leader
