Comment by Kim Phillips-Haines, Principal Petitioner, Tas Power Democracy Inc.
Recent public comments by Burnie Mayor Teeny Brumby have sparked serious concerns that the Government may allow Project Marinus construction to push ahead without proper respect for Tribunal legal processes and appeal rights.
There are currently two relevant TASCAT proceedings concerning components of Project Marinus.
The first is Doolan v Burnie City Council, Marinus Link Pty Ltd and the Board of the Environment Protection Authority, concerning the proposed Heybridge converter stations and switching station. The TASCAT hearing in the case proceeded for five days, finishing on 23 June 2026. The Tribunal has reserved its decision.
The second is Fletcher v Tasmanian Planning Commission & TasNetworks, concerning the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD). That case remains ongoing.
Yet, despite these two proceedings, Mayor Brumby said in a Facebook reply on 8 July that, “subject to the Tribunal’s decision”, Project Marinus works could be “potentially commencing in the next 2 weeks”. If that timing is correct, that would mean that in the event that the Tribunal upholds the permit granted for the proposed Marinus infrastructure at Heybridge, project construction could begin before any appeal period has expired, and while the separate NWTD legal challenge remains ongoing. This would be a serious affront to due process. It would also be financially reckless.
In official regulatory terminology, ‘Project Marinus’ comprises not only the Marinus Link undersea cable, but also the on-land North West Transmission Developments needed to support it. The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has explicitly stated that the “NWTD is one of two components of Project Marinus”, and that Project Marinus is “a single actionable Integrated System Plan (ISP) project”.
If the regulator treats the NWTD and Marinus Link as one integrated project for cost and delivery purposes, the Government should not pretend that they are separate when legal risk arises. Beginning substantial or irreversible construction works on one half of the multi-billion Project Marinus while the other half remains under legal challenge would expose Tasmanian taxpayers and electricity consumers to considerable and avoidable risk.
Following Mayor Brumby’s comments regarding works potentially to commence within weeks, Carol-Ann Fletcher, who is the appellant in the NWTD case, called on the Tasmanian Government to give urgent public assurance that no substantial or irreversible Marinus Link works would begin while legal challenges concerning Project Marinus remain unresolved. She wrote to the Premier, Energy Minister and Treasurer, and also raised the issue with the Joint Select Committee on Energy Matters, the Australian Energy Regulator, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and Commonwealth and Victorian shareholder Ministers.
The Government needs to answer an important question: if Project Marinus construction begins prematurely and the legal position later changes, who will pay?
Tribunal decisions and any appeals that may arise from them must not be treated as a foregone conclusion. The Tasmanian people are entitled to expect their elected representatives, at every level of government, to respect the rule of law and exercise financial prudence – especially when billions of dollars are at stake.
Tas Power Democracy Inc. is a Tasmanian community advocacy group formed by local residents, farmers, and landowners opposing the Marinus Link interconnector and its associated North West Transmission Developments.
The organization actively lobbies against the multi-billion dollar energy projects, arguing they will drive up electricity prices for local consumers, negatively impact the environment, and bypass community consultation.
Key activities include:
- Legal Challenges: Launching appeals with the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) against development applications and pushing back on compulsory land acquisitions by TasNetworks.
- Public Protests: Organizing large-scale “Power Gatherings” and rallies, such as demonstrations outside energy conferences in Devonport and community protests in Burnie.
- Crowdfunding: Running fundraising campaigns to cover ongoing legal fees required to challenge the developments in court.
Their GoFundMe campaign Save Tasmanian From Marinus Link has raised over $15,000 so far.
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