Tasmania will bail out of the Marinus Link project if Labor wins the upcoming state election.
Labor says the project can still go ahead “but Tasmanians won’t be the ones paying for it.”
“We acknowledge that this is a critical project for the nation – but that is exactly why the Australian Government should be the ones to pay for it,” leader Rebecca White said.
“The Liberals have been promising to build a second Bass Strait interconnector for more than a decade. After 10 years in office, they’ve spent $130 million and delivered nothing.
The Liberals cut the project in half in August 2023 due to significant cost blowouts, and reduced Tasmania’s share of the project to 17.7%, with the option to sell that share to the Commonwealth once the project has been commissioned. We will exercise that right as soon as we are able to under the terms of the agreement.
“In the meantime, Tasmanians have seen a 22.5% rise in power prices in the last two years alone, and Tasmanian industries are being told they can’t access the power they need to grow.
“With current “Stage One” projects costs of $3.3 billion, the current Tasmanian government share of 17.7% equates to approximately $584 million, and Tasmania would be best off getting out of it as soon as possible.
“There’s no point throwing good money after bad, at a project where more than 90 per cent of the benefit flows to the mainland.
“Tasmanians have invested in the Hydro for 100 years. We should be paying Tasmanian prices for Tasmanian power, but after 10 years of the Liberals, we’re not.”
