Pressure is increasing on the Premier, Will Hodgman, to table the terms and conditions of the government’s loan of $15 million to private property developer the Kalis Group, for the Myer development.
“Hiding behind the old tired mantra of “commercial-in-confidence” does not cut ice when it comes to $15 million of the taxpayers’ money being provided to a private project,” Greens Leader Kim Booth MP said.
“The Premier had the opportunity today to detail to the House the terms and conditions of the loan to the Kalis Group, including whether the government obtained security for the loan, whether interest is being paid and the rate, as well as the loan’s repayment schedule, but he failed to do so.”
“It would appear the Liberals’ recent revived commitment to end public subsidies is as selective as their commitment to transparency is.”
“The Tasmanian taxpayer, and other Tasmanian businesses, deserve to know the criteria to qualify for corporate welfare.”
“The Tasmanian community also deserve to know whether and how this $15 million of their hard-earned money has been sufficiently protected by the loan’s terms and conditions.”
“Mr Hodgman’s refusal to even address the Greens’ call for the loan’s details to be tabled in the Parliament is very telling. Another fail for openness and transparency for this majority Liberal government,” Mr Booth said.
• Earlier on Tasmanian Times: Who is picking up the tab for the Myer redevelopment?
• Steve Cameron, in Comments: I heard the Premier Will Hodgman describe the need for this loan as a case of “market failure”. In fact its probably exactly the opposite, a case of markets allocating scarce resources efficiently, as they are supposed to. Simply there are too few prepared to invest in the project as they can get a better return on their capital elsewhere. Tasmania is a regional economy, for the simple reason of being an island with a small population. There is always a likelihood that subsidies will be a used to allow us to enjoy similar standards of living to mainland residents, football watching experiences come to mind. So the “open for business” mantra of the Liberals is more correctly “open for subsidy” in the case of Tasmania.
