Labor wants to set up a Parliamentary Committee to oversee the rest of the Spirit of Tasmania project

The opposition believes the Premier and his government ‘needs constant supervision’ to delivery of the new Spirit ferries. Here’s how the government responded.

Labor Leader Dean Winter with his deputy Anita Dow in Devonport. Picture: Simon McGuire.

Labor wants to set up a Parliamentary Committee to oversee the rest of the Spirit of Tasmania project until the new boats are sailing between Devonport and Geelong.

“We need to provide the supervision right up until, hopefully, the brand new spirits are coming in and out of the Mersey fully loaded with passengers and freight,” Labor Leader Dean Winter said.

“We will seek to – at every point possible – ask questions and hold TT-Line, TasPorts and Premier Jeremy Rockliff to account.

“And that’s what we’re there to do.”

The new TT Line boat Spirit of Tasmania IV in Finland. Picture: Rauma Marine Constructions

But the state government says it already has people overseeing the delivery of the Spirits infrastructure in Devonport.

“We will ensure this project gets built, not bogged down in political pointscoring. Industry experts Ben Moloney and Peter Gemmell are overseeing its delivery,” a government spokesperson said.

“Experienced project manager Paul Kirkwood has been appointed to manage the project. Mr Kirkwood was responsible for the delivery of the Geelong Port infrastructure.

“Obviously, it’s Mr Winter’s political interest to do whatever he can to undermine this project, but we will continue to get on with the job.”

One of the two new Spirits is set to be parked in the Port of Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland, while waiting for the new infrastructure in Tasmania to be built.

The state government initially planned to build a temporary wharf at Berth 1E in East Devonport for the new ships while the permanent infrastructure at Berth 3E, a stone’s throw away, was being constructed.

The Spirit of Tasmania 2 leaves the Mersey River. PICTURE CHRIS KIDD

However, that plan was abandoned last week when a report by Mr Moloney and Mr Gemmell ruled that having a temporary berth would have posed a safety risk.

As a result, the government said the new Spirits would not sail into Tasmania until Berth 3E was complete, which would likely be February 2027.

In the interim, Spirit of Tasmania operator TT-Line wants to lease the boats to another company to use.

Speaking in Devonport on Friday, Mr Winter said Labor and a large chunk of Tasmanians had lost confidence in the Liberal government’s ability to deliver the Spirits project on time.

“We think Jeremy Rockliff needs constant supervision in order to deliver these ships,” he said.

“Even on the new time frames – they are six years delayed, over $500m over budget, and this is the biggest infrastructure stuff up in Tasmania’s history.”

Mr Winter said he had been “really impressed” with the evidence from the Public Accounts Committee hearings into the Spirits saga.

“I think they’ve done a fantastic job in terms of getting to the bottom of what’s already happened, and that work is continuing on.

“But what we also need to do is make sure that we are providing the supervision for this project over the course of the next two and a half years.”