Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Transport Minister Eric Abetz have serious questions to answer following revelations the wharf upgrades required for the new Spirits have blown out to $375 million.
Last month, the Premier took on notice a question about whether the cost of the wharf upgrades had “blown out to around $350 million”. Later that evening, Minister Abetz told the House, on the Premier’s behalf, that:
“In response to the question by the Leader of the Opposition to the Premier asking “can he confirm that the latest estimate of the cost of Devonport upgrades is now around $350 000 000″, I can advise the answer is no.”
The Government has now admitted the cost of the wharf upgrades is $375 million, “including costs already incurred to date”.
Does the Premier believe $375 million is not “around $350 million”? And what was the price of the awarded tender, excluding costs already incurred? Was it almost exactly $350 million?
Tasmanians are sick of this government’s failure to deliver major projects, with these critical wharf upgrades joining a long list of broken promises.
They’re also fed up with the government’s refusal to be honest about delays and cost blowouts.
After already being caught making secret bailout payments to a Finnish shipbuilder, waiving penalty clauses and potentially breaching caretaker conventions, the Premier and the Minister owe Tasmanians a full explanation for the answer they gave to Parliament last month about the scandal-plagued Spirits project.
*Code of Conduct for Ministers – pg. 5
Misleading Statements
Ministers must not deliberately make statements that mislead Parliament or the public and in line with Parliamentary practice are obliged to correct the record in a manner that is appropriate to the circumstances, as soon as possible after any incorrect statement is made. It is recognised that a mistake or referring to incorrect information does not, in and of itself, constitute the offence of misleading Parliament as long as it is corrected as soon as possible once the error is identified.
Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer
