Liberals must guarantee work for Tasmanians

The Liberal Government must guarantee that opportunities for local businesses and workers will be maximised in the redevelopment of the Royal Hobart Hospital

Labor Leader Bryan Green warned the Liberals that Tasmanians would not stand for a repeat of the appalling Spirit of Tasmania refurbishment saga.

“The Liberals did nothing to ensure that local workers were supported during the refurbishment of the Spirit of Tasmania ships,” Mr Green said.

“Tasmanians are justifiably angry at this Government’s blatant and repeated broken promise to buy locally.

“The Royal redevelopment is the biggest public works project in the State’s history and it must support Tasmanian workers and businesses,” Mr Green said.

“The Liberal Government needs to guarantee we don’t have a repeat of the Spirit refurbishments.

“This is an opportunity for the Liberals to be completely upfront and provide a breakdown of the total number of workers from Tasmania, interstate and overseas that will be working on the project.

“The Government was caught out misleading Tasmanians about the proportion of foreign labour on the Spirits.”

Mr Green also called on the Government to ensure that opportunities are provided to trainees and apprentices to work on the redevelopment.

“The Liberals must ensure that when the project is finished we don’t just end up with a new building, but with a new generation of skilled workers.”
Bryan Green MP Labor Leader