Premier Jeremy Rockliff has done nothing to ease very serious concerns about Tasmania’s future as the gateway to the Antarctic, placing thousands of jobs and hundreds-of-millions dollars’ worth of economic opportunity at risk.

A letter from the Federal Government to the Premier has revealed that government business TasPorts is “determined to stand in the way” of critical infrastructure at Macquarie Wharf, by not only failing to progress the upgrades needed to berth the new icebreaker, but also attempting to increase charges to the Antarctic Division by more than 14 times what is currently paid.

The Premier was asked by the Federal Government earlier this year to intervene on this critical issue, but he did nothing.

Today the Premier revealed his head was still firmly stuck in the sand, and that he would continue to let TasPorts hold our economy to ransom.

The situation is a perfect example of two major failings of this Liberal government – their failure to deliver on key infrastructure projects, and their failure to recognise that government business enterprises are key economic drivers not just cash cows, just like we’ve seen with Hydro.

Dean Winter MP
Labor Leader