Marinus Link: Guy Barnett silent on federal government funding
Labor is convinced the state government has knocked back an offer of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for the Marinus Link cable. See what the minister had to say.
Tasmania
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The minister in charge of delivering the proposed $3.5b Marinus Link cable is refusing to reveal whether he has rejected two federal government offers to pay for half of the project.
Minister for Energy and Renewables Guy Barnett came under questioning from Labor in Parliament on Thursday about whether the 1500Mw cable plan had received offers of federal financial backing.
Labor says former Prime Minister Scott Morrison wrote to then-Premier Peter Gutwein on December 24 last year offering to pick up half the cost.
That offer, and an apparent second similar offer were both rejected, the opposition says.
The federal government announced $75m in funding for the design and approval stage of MarinusLink in April this year.
Mr Barnett said the project was vitally important for Tasmania but did not answer direct questions on the subject.
“I won’t provide a running commentary on negotiations with the federal government,” he said.
“In terms of the negotiations that we’ve been having with the Australian Government, we’ve had a very good collaborative relationship with the former government, likewise with this government, we thank them for that collaboration.
“Those negotiations are ongoing and can I make it very clear we make no apology for ensuring that we want to protect the best interests of Tasmania we want the best possible outcome for Tasmania.
“So we will remain resolute to ensure that we get the best deal possible for Tasmania.”
Labor’s energy and emissions reduction spokesman Dean Winter said the government should come clean about the progress on the project.
“Once again, the Minister for Energy refuses to answer simple questions about what he’s doing with energy policy here in Tasmania.
“We are now six-and-a-half years into him trying to get his Marinus project over the line to get started.
“We still don’t know who’s going to pay for it. We still don’t know almost anything about this project after six-and-a-half years of him talking about it.
“Today we asked a very simple question: have you rejected yet another offer from the Australian Government? He doesn’t answer simple questions in Parliament because he doesn’t want to tell the truth.”
Mr Barnett said he welcomed Labor’s apparent support of the project, something he said he had not heard expressed before.
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