Minister Guy Barnett stonewalled questions about Basslink legal case in Hydro Tasmania’s GBE hearing

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THE legal dispute between Hydro Tasmania and Basslink might not be over despite an arbitrator last week ruling the energy operator compensate Tasmania to the tune of $38.5 million.

Energy Minister Guy Barnett told a GBE hearing in parliament on Wednesday the government was working through the complex 600-page decision and its implications but could not disclose anything more publicly.

Mr Barnett said advice from the Solicitor General was that further disclosure would breach the Arbitration Act.

“This is a private and confidential matter. The award has been delivered and we are considering that,” Mr Barnett said.

The Minister would not answer how much the dispute had cost Tasmania so far in terms of legal costs nor his opinion on what had caused the cable outage.

“So you are saying the legal dispute is not resolved and that there are still live legal options still in pursuit,” Labor’s David O’Byrne asked.

He was met with stony silence or a “no comment.”

Mr O’Byrne said the Tasmanian community thought the case had been resolved and needed to be told if that was not the case.

“This is unacceptable. We just need to know what happens from here,” he said.

The damages were awarded over the outage of Basslink’s interconnector which carries electricity between Tasmania and Victoria.

The cable stopped working in December 2015, sparking a six-month outage that contributed to an energy crisis in the island state.

Tasmania had received record low rainfall at the time, putting a strain on hydro energy generation and forcing the government to import temporary generators.

In awarding the damages, the arbitrator found the outage was not a force majeure event.

Basslink’s claim for $31 million against Hydro Tasmania for unpaid fees during the outage was found not to be recoverable.