The new Spirits project, when fully delivered, is going to be a great thing for the Tasmanian economy and for Tasmanian businesses.

Unfortunately, Premier Rockliff has refused to turn the Spirits project around after relieving Michael Ferguson of his duties.

The Premier could not commit to the new Spirits both being in service, at full capacity by the summer of 2026. He also did not commit to doubling day sailings of the Spirits this summer to recover lost capacity and support the tourism and hospitality businesses that have been impacted by the Spirits stuff-up.

The Premier has also refused to issue a Ministerial Direction requiring TasPorts to host the new ships here in Tasmania for free.

Instead, the Tasmanian taxpayers will have to fork out up to $8,000 a day to keep them in Hobart or even hide the ships in Singapore.

While Labor has put forward positive proposals to turn the project around, Premier Rockliff has refused to offer any solutions or reveal the status of the project since Michael Ferguson’s first resignation.

We encourage Premier Rockliff to show some leadership and immediately adopt our proposals to start getting the Spirits back on course.

Dean Winter MP
Labor Leader
Shadow Minister for Tourism & Hospitality