In a cynical move designed to shore up his leadership, Peter Gutwein has taken a step back from his involvement with TasWater.
Shadow Treasurer David O’Byrne said it comes after he failed to deliver any success in his dealings with the water and sewerage business.
“Having waged a two-year war with TasWater, Peter Gutwein failed in his takeover bid.
“He went to water after the state election and committed hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to shore up TasWater’s struggling infrastructure.
“Clearly that’s also failed, with sewage spilling into beaches, towns on boil water alerts and now a dam at risk of failing.
“Peter Gutwein has found a way out of the mess he created for himself by handballing responsibility for TasWater to his leadership rival Michael Ferguson through the cabinet reshuffle.”
Mr O’Byrne said Michael Ferguson needs to reconsider his ‘hands off’ approach to the dam safety issue.
“TasWater has known about safety concerns at Ridgeway Dam for some years but took no action until an alarming consultant’s report last year that rated the consequences of failure as ‘extreme’.
“Peter Gutwein will have known about this too but didn’t insist TasWater act to reduce risk more quickly.
“Michael Ferguson must now ensure the necessary investment to reduce risk to an acceptable level.
“Where public safety is concerned, there’s no excuse for being a hands off minister.”
David O’Byrne
Shadow Treasurer
