Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Energy spokesperson
The Rockliff Minority Government must answer the many questions still outstanding on the multi-billion-dollar Marinus Link proposal. As made clear by John Tucker and Lara Alexander today, this is an issue that people from all political persuasions are concerned about.
While the two former-Liberal MPs named up the Macquarie Point stadium as their number one issue, they made it clear Marinus Link was a close second.
We are not surprised these newly minted independents rated concerns about the Marinus secret deal and debt as a serious issue. Communities around the island have been given the cold shoulder by the Rockliff Government, and the Greens have also never received a straight answer after years of scrutinising this opaque proposal.
To be clear - the Greens are strong supporters of more clean energy, but we don't believe Marinus Link is the best approach to tackle climate change. It will do nothing to push down Tasmania's growing industrial emissions, and the project’s infrastructure will destroy vast swathes of carbon-rich, biodiverse forests and landscapes.
Tasmania should be using our limited finances to invest in electrification, and in local renewables close to industry and settlements.
Michael Ferguson and Guy Barnett have repeatedly refused to tell Tasmanians the truth about the multi-billion-dollar debt they're signing us up for.
Now they are in a Parliamentary minority they should think twice about maintaining their insultingly secretive approach to Marinus Link.