You can listen to my latest interview on ABC Drive here: […]
ABC Drive – 10 February 2026
Cam River Bridge traffic delays follow-up
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 […]
Productivity – what are we actually measuring?
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 […]
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Hydro Tasmania: What the Numbers Show – A multi-chapter analysis of operating performance, liquidity, structural risks, and public myths.
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 […]
Chapter 18: Conclusion – A Century of Hydro, and the Next One
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 […]
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Chapter 17: The Path Forward
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 […]
Chapter 16: The Fiscal Stakes for Tasmania
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 […]
Chapter 15 – Governance, Secrecy, and the WoSBC: Tasmania’s Architecture of Unaccountability
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 […]
Chapter 14 – Myths, Misconceptions, and Convenient Narratives
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, […]
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Chapter 13: What the Numbers Reveal – Hydro Tasmania’s Financial Position in Full
This is the thirteenth post in a series of 18. I will continue to post daily, or thereabouts until all posted. The posts are related to how Hydro Tasmania actually earns money, how the National Electricity Market shapes its fortunes, and why the numbers in its accounts now matter more than at any time in […]
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Chapter 12: Hydro Tasmania – Cash Flow -The Final Test of Hydro’s Financial Strength
This twelfth post continues a series of four Chapters 10-13, related to the financial position of Hydro Tasmania with a focus on the Hydro’s cash flow. This is critical to understand the changes in the energy sector and how Hydro Tasmania actually earned money in the past, present and future, how the National Electricity Market […]
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OPINION: Tasmania’s Fiscal Reckoning: The Critical Priorities for 2026
Balancing the Budget well – nigh impossible in future, given falling revenue from Government Businesses. Tasmania enters 2026 facing not only a general government fiscal crisis, but a system-wide deterioration across the entire Public Non-Financial Corporation (PNFC) sector. For decades, government businesses quietly stabilised the State’s finances. Dividends and income tax equivalents consistently exceeded grants […]
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