Michael Ferguson loses bungled ferries but retains sinking ship of state

Clockwise from right: Tasmanian Treasurer Michael Ferguson, the Spirit of Tasmania V, Premier Jeremy Rockliff. Picture: Stephanie Dalton/Nikki Davis-Jones

If Michael Ferguson is not sufficiently competent to be Tasmania’s Infrastructure Minister, why is he still its Treasurer and Deputy Premier?

This is the obvious and so far unsatisfactorily answered question arising from Monday’s ministerial manoeuvres.

Ferguson had presided over a Yes, Minister-style stuff up: the procurement of two new passenger ferries while failing to provide a sufficient wharf at which for them to berth.

Taxpayers will be tens of millions out of pocket to fund a temporary solution and the ferries will have to initially operate well below capacity.

While blame may extend to the government businesses responsible for both projects, under the Westminster system the buck stops with Ferguson as shareholder minister.

By parting him from infrastructure, the minority government hopes to head-off a no-confidence vote in Ferguson in the days after – or even before – his September 12 state budget.

It may well take sufficient heat out of the debate to persuade enough of the independents not to back such a motion.

If the government is really fortunate, it may also draw a line of sorts under the saga, or at least allow a reboot with the Premier in charge from here on.

The bigger problem for the Liberals is that Ferguson’s performance as Treasurer is looking as unimpressive as his efforts in infrastructure.

Having inherited treasury coffers net debt free, the Liberals have over 10 years raked up the kind of debt that would make Victoria blush.

Covid is the usual excuse, but as the recent excoriation of state finances by Saul Eslake makes clear, the rot began before the pandemic and has continued since.

If you thought the ferry fiasco was an impressive stuff-up, consider this: According to Eslake, unless corrective actions are taken the next decade will see Tasmania’s ballooning cash deficits average almost $1.3bn a year.

Net debt – for a state net debt free throughout the 2010s – will meanwhile soar to more than $16bn; equivalent to more than 25 per cent of gross state product.

Unless the September 12 budget bucks the disastrous trend, it’s hard to see any Tasmanian having confidence in this Treasurer or the government.