This article in The Weekend Australian is timely and also informative. Sadly during the recent election it seemed the major parties didn’t want to talk about this huge project, Marinus and the North West Transmission Development, and the risks it poses to Tasmanians. I have written a number of pieces during the election period on this which you can view on my website. I also Chaired the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Energy Matters which was preparing a final report when to Parliament was prorogued for yet another early election. This meant all work on that report ceased. There is no excuse for the Liberal Minister, Nick Duigan or Treasurer Guy Barnett to delay release of the Whole-of-State Business Case. We all need time to read and digest it. It is appalling that the government have had this since mid-May. Tasmania is now in the best position it has been to ensure if this is to be built that Tasmanians are treated fairly and respectfully in the final discussions with the Federal and Victorian shareholders. It also means all other options should be properly canvassed and considered before we proceed. The project cannot proceed without Tasmania’s approval so I call on both parties to work with all MPs and experts in this field to ensure the right decisions are made Tasmania.
I do find it somewhat galling the Nick Duigan is now saying “It will be released soon” – with a decision looming is should have been released at the start of the caretaker period. All Tasmanians have an interest and direct stake in this. Is it only now that the Liberals fear they may not have the support needed to form government that they are willing to share this critical information?? A media release from Duigan today says “We are carefully and methodically working through the details, with a decision expected soon. Once this is finalised, all relevant information will be publicly released. The Opposition will be briefed in line with caretaker conventions” – does this mean the decision will be made BEFORE the relevant information – that is the decision to proceed?? If so, this is an appalling breach of prior commitments to the Parliament and the people of Tasmania. I also ask why an Opposition briefing has taken this long to deliver – given we have been in caretaker for weeks! Big and critical decisions for the State need public visibility and oversight.
The government’s sanctimonious claim to be adhering to convention, in this case the caretaker convention, is starting to become wearisome. It also claimed to adhere to the Charter of Budget Responsibility Act, but its Fiscal Strategy released as part of that Act in response to the calamitous circumstances facing us, not only was unachievable but showed no plans for getting there. This was the law, supposedly more binding than any convention. The government paid lip service to the Act but it fell well short of what the Act intended.
The intent of the caretaker convention is that a government shouldn’t make decisions that will bind an opposition. It’s fair to say the two-party system was assumed. But that is no longer the case. In terms of votes and seats the current government only represents 40 per cent, so the non-government proportion is 60 per cent. We don’t know who will be the government and who will be the opposition. In any event it’s the spirit rather than the largely unwritten letter of the caretaker convention is what is important.
This will be an acid test for a government with Tasmania teetering on the edge, where a new spirit of co-operation is sorely needed.