Good on Scott Morrison for getting it done, but a $3.5B project is a big job to get right

Marinus must be not only done well, but it must be properly explained to the people of Tasmania, as the state is once-bitten, twice shy because of Lake Pedder

• At last, the right Bill, at the right time, for Tasmania
• Billion-buck bungle in the pipeline

THE Tasmanian government has pulled off a remarkable result in convincing the federal government to make a second Bass Strait cable a national priority.

This project, which plugs the state’s renewable energy into Australia’s power grid, is a potential game changer. Worth more than $3.5 billion, Project Marinus will be one of the biggest single investments Tasmania has seen, and underpins the bold vision of Tasmania becoming the Battery of the Nation.

Marinus is one of three projects deemed critical by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to a COVID-19 recovery, promising jobs and enabling development.

The 350km undersea cable will be fast-tracked to completion, along with connectors linking South Australia and NSW, and NSW and Victoria.

“These links will help put downward pressure on prices, shore up the reliability of our energy grid and create over 4000 jobs,” Mr Morrison said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison during the announcement of the Battery of the Nation at Cethana Dam and Power Station. Picture: Adam Taylor

Along with such a massive price tag and daring vision comes huge responsibility.

Marinus must be not only done well, but it must be properly explained to the people of Tasmania. Hydro Tasmania and the state government must step up to the mark and bring the Tasmanian people along with them on this powerful project.

Long gone are the days when the state-owned power company was given unfettered power to develop with nary a nod to public concerns.

We cannot afford to turn back the clock, to conflicts that have riven the state. Acrimony lives on over the flooding of Lake Pedder in the 1970s. The original lake, if untouched, would today have ranked with Wineglass Bay among the world’s tourism gems.

Lake Pedder in the southwest of Tasmania, prior to flooding.

Kayakers on Lake Pedder. Picture: Rob Blakers.

Hydro did little better with Basslink, charging ahead with or without the support of the public. A protracted cable outage, low rainfall and decisions to export power to feed Melbourne’s high-yielding peak periods led to Tasmania’s dams being run down to record lows in 2016.

Diesel generators were ramped up and heavy industry voluntarily cut production to ease pressure on power supplies. Nobody, least of all the Hydro, wants to see that again.

In the 21st century, it is incumbent on the state to tell Tasmanians how the project will help them. Effects on household and small business power prices will be the bottom line for most. Will prices drop?

Is there a risk they could rise? How many jobs will be generated? Will we end up importing coal-fired power, rather than sourcing our own renewable power from the hydro-electric system that remains the envy of many?

Economists have long raised concerns about the first cable, Basslink, which cost hundreds of millions more than originally intended, as economist John Lawrence points out in today’s Talking Point pages.

Construction on the 1500-megawatt Marinus cable could begin in just a few months. No doubt coronavirus will remain front of mind. Many businesses will still be struggling and too many Tasmanians will be relying on welfare.

Let’s see a project that helps lift the state, something Tasmanians can trust.