Jacqui Lambie lashes Michael Ferguson over Spirit of Tasmania port delays

Senator Jacqui Lambie has lashed Treasurer Michael Ferguson and demanded he resign from the government her party’s state MPs are keeping in power. Here’s what she said.

Spirit of Tasmanian IV first sea trial. Picture: Spirit of Tasmania

Senator Jacqui Lambie has lashed Treasurer Michael Ferguson and demanded he resign from the government her party’s state MPs are keeping in power.

Ms Lambie accused Mr Ferguson of resorting to “grotty tactics” to cover up for what she described as his own incompetence.

The outspoken senator entered the debate over TT-Line after the government demanded and received the resignation of long-time chair Mike Grainger on Wednesday.

“Mr Ferguson’s career has been devoid of any kind of accountability and responsibility,” Ms Lambie said.

CANBERRA, Australia - NewsWire Photos - August 12, 2024 Senator Jacqui Lambie at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Our health system buckled under his leadership and the Tasmanian economy has been driven off a cliff. The TT-Line said they would tell the truth, which spooked Mr Ferguson, forcing him to resort to grotty tactics to keep the truth cloaked in secrecy.

“After a decade in government, Mr Ferguson is naïve enough to think he can blame everyone else. The fish rots from the head down, and it’s pretty clear that Mr Ferguson is at the head of this rot.”

Three members of the Jacqui Lambie Network have signed a deal to back the government. The Liberals have 14 seats in the 35-seat House of Assembly.

“Mr Ferguson oversaw the two Government-owned enterprises involved in this saga, but somehow, he didn’t see this coming. It is about time Michael Ferguson grew up, manned up, and took responsibility for his actions, or should I say, lack thereof.

“His eleventh-hour efforts prove just how incompetent and ineffective he really is.

“For the sake of the Tasmanian people, Michael Ferguson should resign or, at the very least, move himself to the backbench.”

Transport Minister Eric Abetz said Mr Grainger’s press release on Wednesday challenging evidence before the Public Accounts Committee had been a step too far.

“A statement was put out re-engaging in the blame game,” he said.

Transport Minister Eric Abetz speaks to the media at Parliament Square in Hobart on Thursday, August 15, 2024.

“We as a government determined that it was important to have a change of direction and get the focus on only one thing, and that is delivery of this project.”

Mr Abetz said the government had confidence in the remainder of the TT-Line board.

“Anybody that knows anything about our parliamentary democracy knows that Mr Grainger is more than entitled to appear before the Committee, and the action that we have taken will not impact on that in any way, shape or form.

“But what it does do is stop the blame game. That is what we sought to stop, and we believe that that has been achieved.”

He said the government was focused on moving forward and delivering the new Spirit ferries and not looking backwards.

Labor leader Dean Winter said Mr Grainger was a scapegoat for the government’s failings to properly manage the Spirits project.

“This is a political intervention designed to stop Mr Grainger from telling the truth, from saying what Michael Ferguson did or didn’t know, and from correcting the record from the evidence that Mr Ferguson gave,” he said.

Opposition leader Dean Winter speaks to the media on the Hobart waterfront on Thursday, August 15, 2024.

This is the biggest infrastructure stuff up in Tasmania’s history. Someone needs to be held accountable and scapegoating the chair of TT line is not going to get to the bottom of this issue. It’s not just about the delivery of this project. It’s about getting the basic governance right behind these projects, getting ministers do their job so that this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.’