Rockliff sets overnight ultimatum over $5bn Marinus deal

Premier Jeremy Rockliff has given Labor less than 24 hours to back Tasmania's $5bn Marinus Link power project, sparking fury over “government by ambush” during caretaker mode.

Marinus link supplied image

Premier Jeremy Rockliff has given Labor an ultimatum — and an overnight deadline — to back the $5bn Marinus Link project

The Liberal leader has written to his Labor counterpart seeking his backing for the government make a Final Investment Decision while in caretaker mode as the election result is being determined.

Labor, the Greens and independent MPs have all criticised the Liberals for a lack of transparency about the project, underlined by the handling of a briefing on Tuesday where they were presented with thousands of pages making up the business case.

“The information provided to you is consistent with that which has been provided to Cabinet members,” Mr Rockliff wrote to Mr Winter.

“It is our responsibility as leaders to make decisions in the best interests of Tasmania with the information available to us.

“Your support as Opposition Leader for a positive Marinus FID will demonstrate a bipartisan commitment, together with the Australian and Victorian Governments, for the benefit of Tasmania for generations to come.”

Liberal Leader Jeremy Rockliff. Picture: Caroline Tan

Mr Rockliff set a deadline of 9am Thursday for a response. The federal government needs Tasmania’s answer by the weekend.

Marinus Link is a proposed 350km, 1500MW cable between North West Tasmania and the Latrobe Valley in Victoria.

The project is 49 per cent owned by the Australian government 33.3 per cent by the Victorian government and 17.7 per cent by the Tasmanian government.

Mr Winter said he was outraged at how cavalier the government had been about consultation.

“Tasmanian Labor supports Project Marinus, but we will not be bullied into rubberstamping a 1000 page deal with less than 24 hours’ notice – especially when the Premier has had the final business case on his desk for two months,” he said.

“What we’ve seen over the past few days is nothing short of an appalling breach of caretaker conventions.

“Now, with the deadline looming, Jeremy Rockliff has written to me asking for my formal endorsement of a multibillion-dollar decision after one rushed briefing, two hours to digest over 1000 pages of complex information, no discussion and certainly no real consultation.

“I support Marinus, but I will not be complicit in this sham process.”

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said she also did not have enough information.

“What I managed to glean yesterday from this very short charade of a briefing was that it is more serious for Tasmania and our state’s debt than we had imagined, and it will be seriously negative for residential customers and small business and major industrials,” Dr Woodruff said.

Independent member for Franklin Peter George speaks to the media on Parliament Lawns on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.

Independent member for Franklin Peter George was similarly unimpressed, describing the govenrment's handing as “ludicrous”.

“This is government by ambush,” he said.

“The decisions that are going to be taken in the next couple of days will lock us into an extraordinary, expensive and very controversial process, and yet, the independents are given about an hour to look through 2000 pages of documents, and a three-hour briefing

“Of course, it’s a broken promise and it’s an unnecessarily broken promise.

“It’s clear that what they were trying to do, the Liberals were trying to do was to keep this from the public during the election campaign.”

And independent MP Craig Garland said the government had repeatedly breached its commitments to transparency and said he would not deal with them further until his questions were answered.

“This Government has repeatedly promised Tasmanians that the business case for Marinus would be released at least 30 days before a final investment decision so MPs and the public would be informed about its merits” Mr Garland said.

“But now, just two days before the Government is expected to make the final investment decision on the biggest infrastructure project in the State’s history, I and other crossbenchers were offered a last-minute, confidential briefing in Hobart.

“At the start of the briefing, I was told I couldn’t take any documents or share with the public what I learned — even though it will profoundly affect our state’s future.”

Independent MPs blast $5bn power link ‘secrecy’

Key independents have expressed their anger over Marinus Link, accusing the government of secrecy and undermining support for the project as decision deadlines loom for the $5bn Bass Strait cable.

The Liberals held a briefing for MPs on Tuesday, which only served to highlight concerns some have about whether the electricity and data interconnector is a good deal for Tasmanians.

Marinus Link is a proposed 350km, 1500MW cable between North West Tasmania and the Latrobe Valley in Victoria.

The project is 49 per cent owned by the Australian government 33.3 per cent by the Victorian government and 17.7 per cent by the Tasmanian government.

The government promised to release the business case it received months ago.

A decision on whether to proceed with the first stage of the project was promised by July 31, but is expected to be delayed until Parliament resumes.

Kristie Johnston independent member for Clark. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Independent Member for Clark Kristie Johnston said Marinus was risky for Tasmania and MPs were not being given the information they needed to be properly informed either before of at Tuesday’s briefing. .

“It is clear to me why Marinus Link was hidden away during the election campaign by the caretaker Liberal Government. It would have sunk them.

“I call on Labor to stand up for Tasmanians and demand no final investment decision is made until information has been released publicly, and there has been adequate time for consultation with the community and stakeholders.

“For either the Liberal Party or Labor Party to sign on to Marinus without this is reckless and irresponsible.

Newly-elected independent MP Peter George said he too was taken aback by the lack of transparency.

“Just as I have been warned by other independent MPs, this is typical of the lack of respect and consultation shown by the Rockliff government over the past two administrations.

“It’s a way of ramming through a process that has highly questionable outcomes yet commits Tasmania to huge costs without clear benefits to the state.

“It’s no way to approach minority government that Tasmanians expect to provide a constructive and stable parliament for the next four years.”

Tasmanian Labor leader Dean Winter. Picture: Linda Higginson

Labor leader Dean Winter said on Tuesday that he could not support the project with the information he had to date.

“We’ve been told that today’s briefing is top secret and that the only reason we’re given a briefing was if we didn’t tell anyone about it.

“We need Tasmanians to get this information.

“We also weren’t provided with all the information we need, we couldn’t possibly provide endorsement to this project with information received today, I have not seen the final business case.

“I have not seen all the information that I would need to make a decision about this or to endorse a decision made by this government.”

And independent member for Braddon Craig Garland has put his opposition to the cable on the record.

Craig Garland. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“Marinus Link and its associated infrastructure will drive up power prices for ordinary Tasmanians, while corporations cash in. Despite being the biggest infrastructure project in Tasmania’s history, the Government still hasn’t released the whole-of-state business case,” he said during the recent election campaign.

“I’m making my position crystal clear: I oppose Marinus Link. I want to put Tasmanian electricity consumers first — not mainland energy markets and not private developers.”

Originally published as Rockliff sets overnight ultimatum over $5bn Marinus deal