Rocky-horse shit
Tasmanian politics in general – and once more, Project Marinus in particular – is like standing on the sidelines at the circus, watching a roundabout. It doesn’t take long before you can predict the same old horse appearing in the procession.
And so it is with the final fnvestment decision on stage one of Project Marinus. The date was set in stone for December 2024. Then moved to May this year.
And now, ungoverned by Parliament and in caretaker mode for the second time in a year, we learn that D-Day is tomorrow, 31 July.
To say this is a farce understates the seriousness of the matter. To term it a “cluster-f*ck” is spot on! It’s a series on on-going explosions.
Yesterday’s outrageous “briefing” to select members of the prorogued Parliament, and some prospective members still not elected, could precipitate a cascade of pages filled with broken promises of transparency from a crumbling line of Liberal administrations in Tasmania.
That Ruth Forrest, chair of the long-running, twice disbanded, Joint Select Committee on Energy Matters in Tasmania, was initially refused entry to the lock-up is an insult to the member, and to the Tasmanian taxpayers she represents.
Rosalie Woodruff could not recall ever attending such a charade which purported to be a consultation session for members, on what would be this state’s largest-ever infrastructure commitment.
Peter George – elected but not yet sworn in – had to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement, as did his advisor, energy consultant John Devereaux. George said they were confronted with around two thousand pages of complex documents, and given three-and-a-half hours to absorb and make critical judgements. They were forbidden from removing documents from the room.
He also learned that a billion dollar order for the undersea cable had to be confirmed by tomorrow 31 July or the project would be seriously delayed.
He and others were expected to make that call without any understanding of the figures underpinning the proposition.
None of these opaque tactics is new in the Marinus saga – and it is the same for every aspect of the roll-out of new renewables developments across this state. Ask any group which has seriously opposed such a development, and you will learn of years of full-time and exhaustive study, detailed written representations and hundreds of thousands of dollars of private finances paying for independent expert reports and legal representation in places like TasCAT and the Supreme Court.
But back to the round-about.
In August 2023, then Energy Minister Guy Barnett was referred to the Privileges and Conduct Committee for deliberately withholding information from Parliament about the latest cost blow-out of the Marinus development.
Word on the street was that it was now $5.5 billion. He denied this, but would provide no other detail.
Rescue came in the form of Prime Minister Albanese and his side-kick Chris Bowen, who stopped off in Melbourne and were able to convince the Victorian Government with some financial inducements to become part of a new tri-partite Marinus Link Pty Ltd. They were allocated a 33.3% stake.
The entity was excised as a subsidiary of TasNetworks, and in a deal cemented while in caretaker mode in March 2024, Premier Rockliff got then Labor leader Rebecca White and her energy guru Dean Winter to give it the thumbs-up after what must have been a very brief ‘briefing’.
Thus Tasmania was relieved of the impossible-to-fund project, and in the wash-up of the election that returned yet an even more minor minority government to the Liberals, Barnett’s prosecution disappeared in the flurry of the usual daily headlines.
Dare one mention the unending distraction of the AFL stadium – a sandpit-sized project when compared to the tens of billions the whole Marinus scheme will cost, and the 1300+ wind turbines currently planned to decorate our Tasmanian skyline, not to mention huge scars created by ancillary transmission corridors?
However, here we are again – just another evolution of the roundabout.
The Premier and Minister Duigan have had the ‘Whole of State Business Case’ for Project Marinus in their possession since May 16, 2025 – well before Winter’s badly-executed no confidence motion in the Premier.
Now elevated to Attorney General, Barnett assured us that the report would be fully disclosed to the Tasmanian public at least 30 days prior to any decision being debated.
That was 10 weeks ago – and a month before Rockliff got his election date confirmed by the Governor.
With only two full working days before the deadline of 31 July, the Government is playing another game of political brinkmanship on Marinus during caretaker mode.
Rockliff has no concept of ‘convention’ – other than that it cannot be legally enforced.
Any person of decency would have accepted the House’s vote of no confidence and stood aside (no need to resign) and allowed another senior Liberal to take command during what would have been a very fiery budget debate. This is still to be had as he tries to cobble together another administration – but this time from much more experienced cross-benchers.
Once more, vital information has been withheld.
Just over a year ago, here’s what then independent MHA Lara Alexander had to say about Marinus in a media release, one of many published by the Tasmanian Times on 7 September, 2023:
“This government must learn that they are in minority. It is not business as usual; the will of the Parliament will be enforced and that means full disclosure, full transparency, and full accountability. The sooner the Premier and his Ministers understand this, the sooner we will reach a point when Parliament works as intended.”
Her compatriot John Tucker noted: “Their first attempt at a Marinus deal was a shocker on their own admission and they have given themselves an out on the latest proposal with a provision to hand the whole thing over to the Australian Government. This is the thin end of the wedge. This is where we start to lose control of our energy infrastructure and supply, which Tasmania has developed responsibly over the last 100 years.
Guy Barnett Referred to Privileges Committee over Marinus Costs Fudge
Were Parliament sitting at the moment, there would be a strong case to be bought against the Premier and his energy minister for withholding vital information which must inform the Project Marinus discussion.
But we are in tricky territory.
Constitutional academic Professor Anne Twomey seems to suggest that it is possible for the Premier to seal the Marinus deal without needing parliamentary approval. This is far beyond the scope of interested observer, and I am seeking clarification from Professor Twomey.
Her opinion published by the ABC is worth reading.
But there is no doubt that the legal ramifications of being found guilty by the Privileges Committee of misleading Parliament could lead to a Minister learning first-hand of the conditions which exist in Risdon prison.
This is an explainer from the Act.
Parliamentary privilege in relation to Australian parliaments derives from the Westminster parliamentary tradition. This tradition is preserved and augmented by legislation in each jurisdiction. In Tasmania this consists primarily of the Parliamentary Privilege Act 1858 and elements of the Defamation Act 2005 and the Criminal Code Act 1924.
Each House of Parliament may direct the Attorney-General to prosecute, in the Supreme Court, in relation to offences committed against it to the same extent that the English House of Commons may direct the English Attorney-General to prosecute in relation to offences committed against the Commons. The maximum penalty in Tasmania is two years’ imprisonment, a fine of $20 000 and imprisonment until the fine is paid, or both.
It’s time to stop the endless free ride for politicians on the Marinus roundabout.
Tasmanians are feeling giddy from the rapid circulation of elections, but it’s time we pulled the kiddies off the ride. The constant spinning has seriously affected their moral compass – as well as the taxpayers’ pockets.
Greg Pullen has a keen interest in renewable energy transformation, in particular its benefits for Tasmania. He is a firm believer in the KISS Principle.
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