Fiscal Fiction and Waiting for a Miracle For years Tasmania has been governed by a budget process that seems designed not to confront reality but to defer it. The latest Revised Estimates Report (RER) for 2025-26, released this week, is the clearest example yet. The Government is not repairing the State’s finances, not recalibrating the […]
When Hydro Tasmania’s Chair quietly warned of a “subdued year ahead” at last year’s GBE scrutiny hearings, most people probably heard it as corporate modesty – the kind of cautious phrasing executives use when they don’t want to spook anyone. But six months into the 2025-26 financial year, the numbers tell a story far more […]
Read More… from Six Months In, Hydro’s “Subdued Year” Looks More Like a Storm Warning
Six months in, Hydro Tasmania’s “subdued year” looks more like a storm warning When Hydro Tasmania’s chair quietly warned of a “subdued year ahead” at last year’s GBE scrutiny hearings, most people probably heard it as corporate modesty the kind of cautious phrasing executives use when they don’t want to spook anyone. But six months […]
Read More… from Hydro’s profit (and ours) will be under water
You can listen to my latest interview on ABC Drive here: […]
Following the long delays experienced by those travelling on what is a key route in the North-West and needing to cross the Cam River Bridge in Somerset on Thursday 5 February, due to routine inspection work, I have asked a number of questions of the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Hon Kerry Vincent MLC. You […]
Every few months, Tasmanian workers are treated to a familiar sermon. It usually comes from a business lobby, an employer group, or a CEO who has never staffed a ward, taught a classroom, or processed a planning application. The message is always the same: we’d love to pay you more, but you need to earn […]
Read More… from Productivity – what are we actually measuring?
Now that Chapter 18 has been posted, the Hydro Explainer series has reached the end of its journey – at least for now. My thanks to everyone who has stayed with it. A clearer understanding of what is actually happening inside our energy system is the only way we will make progress together. For ease […]
This final chapter looks to the future and the challenges we must be open and honest about. It looks to the future of our incredibly important government business, Hydro Tasmania and the State of Tasmania. it focuses on the critical period we are facing and what we as Tasmanians need to ensure the longevity of […]
Read More… from Chapter 18: Conclusion – A Century of Hydro, and the Next One
This penultimate chapter is a longer post that focuses on the path forward with a particular focus on the next five years of transition. It is a critically important period for the state and for our energy businesses, especially Hydro Tasmania. This follows the previous chapters that have sought to explain how Hydro Tasmania actually […]
This chapter will consider what is at stake for the fiscal future of Tasmania – when we consider the current energy sector and how it has and will operate into the future and the state’s reliance on Hydro Tasmania to provide significant financial support to the State budget. I thank John Lawrence for his assistance […]
This post examines the Tasmanian Government’s and Hydro Tasmania’s governance environment – the Whole of State Business Case (WoSBC) redactions, the opaque annual report, the refusal to disclose basic financial information, and the public repetition of myths about the National Electricity Market (NEM) – and shows how these patterns have eroded transparency at a time […]
If there is one constant in Tasmania’s energy debate, it is the persistence of myths. Some are harmless misunderstandings. Others are repeated so often – by ministers, departmental officials, and even Hydro’s own leadership – that they have become part of the public consciousness. But when you examine how the National Electricity Market actually works, […]
Read More… from Chapter 14 – Myths, Misconceptions, and Convenient Narratives
