Premier Jeremy Rockliff needs to come clean about how much the government’s desperate weekend Spirits spin advertising cost Tasmanians.

Over the weekend, in an attempt to clean up the disastrous mess they’ve made of the Spirits replacement project, the government took out double-page Q&A ads in the three daily newspapers. Tasmanians weren’t impressed.

These ads were jam-packed with highly questionable answers such as claims the ships wouldn’t be second-hand even after being leased, and that infrastructure at Devonport was being fast tracked. I’m surprised they didn’t try to say the project was on budget as well.

The Spirits replacement project has been bungled so badly that it’s receiving media coverage across the world, becoming a source of international embarrassment for the Rockliff minority government.

Given the coverage the stuff-up has received, Tasmanians don’t need to be fed dubious spin by the government, and they certainly don’t need to pay for the privilege.

The Spirits fiasco has cost Tasmanians hundreds of millions of dollars already, with $50,000 being added each week while the ships are indefinitely mothballed in Scotland.

Today, the Premier needs to come clean about how much his weekend advertising attempt added to the Spirits tab.

Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer