Two years ago, Labor asked the Treasurer whether the contract price of the Spirits had changed. It had, by more than $13 million, but he denied it to a Parliamentary Committee.
During caretaker in the election, TT-Line made an $80 million bailout payment to the Finnish shipbuilder. The Premier never planned to tell Tasmanians.
In May, Labor asked whether the cost of the wharf upgrades had blown out to around $350 million. It had, but the Premier told Parliament it wasn’t true.
Yesterday, Labor asked whether Berth 1 was too shallow for the new ships to operate full capacity. The Premier tried to keep the truth from the public by offering us a private briefing – but it came out anyway.
Today, when asked how long the new Spirits will operate at reduced capacity at Berth 1 while we wait for Berth 3 to be completed, the Premier could again only offer us a private briefing.
The new Spirits are going to be fantastic for our state, but they’re now five years late and $500 million over budget. It’s time Tasmanians-and especially our tourism operators-finally got some answers from Premier Rockliff.
Dean Winter MP
Labor Leader
