During Budget Estimates the Greens exposed that the Liberals’ plans for major new electricity infrastructure and a private contract to power the stadium had been shelved. With the government meant to have been presented with new options in August, we’re seeking an update on whether the Liberals have finally determined how to power the stadium, and how much it’s set to cost Tasmanians.
Earlier this year, the Greens revealed the Liberals had been secretly planning major new electricity infrastructure to power the stadium. Underpinned by an agreement with Veolia for a privately-owned energy network and thermal energy plant on the stadium site, it also involved the building of a new substation and digging up kilometres of Hobart streets for connection.
But in response to Greens’ questions in Budget Estimates, we learnt the Liberals had shelved the private energy plans just as quietly as they’d made them and gone back to the drawing board. It wasn’t just a year of work that had been wasted, with well over $2 million of taxpayer dollars potentially paid out for the work not to go ahead.
Tas Networks were set to provide a new set of options for powering the stadium in August. So, more than four years since the stadium was announced and almost a year since it was voted on by Parliament, do the Liberals know how they’re going to power the stadium, and how much it will cost?
The Greens have had to extract the Liberals’ power plans piece by piece, but we’re still in the dark about how they expect to power the stadium. With no update from the Liberal Government, the Greens have written to the Minister, requesting an update on their stadium power plans.
The Greens are also seeking answers to questions asked in the last sitting session on just how much has been paid to Veolia to not deliver the agreed energy approach, and whether this is part of the Liberal Government’s $1.13 billion stadium cost estimate. Despite committing to provide this information in Parliament, the Minister still hasn’t delivered answers almost a month later.
Veolia has either been paid out or not… so what’s the hold up to answering the question?
The Liberals’ planning process for powering the stadium has been a costly shambles that they’ve tried to keep behind closed doors. It’s indicative of their broader approach to building this stadium, and just another reason why no one genuinely believes the stadium is going to cost the $1.13 billion.
While public services are being cut to the bone supposedly to manage the budget, Tasmanians deserve honesty about stadium costs.
