Earlier this year, the Greens revealed the Liberals had secretly been planning major new electricity infrastructure to power their unpopular, unaffordable stadium. Now it appears those plans, which incorporated private operator Veolia, have been scrapped. MPDC’s plan for powering the stadium is back at square one, costing the taxpayer millions, for nothing.
In previous episodes of the stranger than fiction Liberal Government stadium saga, the Greens uncovered MPDC had quietly been planning for major new electricity infrastructure to power the stadium. It involved a new substation, digging up kilometres of Hobart streets, privately-owned distribution inside the stadium site and even a thermal energy plant. All of it underpinned by an arrangement with Veolia.
In response to Greens’ questions during Budget Estimates, it was revealed the Liberal Government through MPDC, has ditched Veolia as the power solution provider and gone back to the drawing board. It’s not just a year of work that’s been wasted. Up to $2.7 million of taxpayer dollars, have been poured straight down the drain by this government. Is this the same government that said it would manage the project’s budget within an inch of its life? It feels like satire. But Tasmanians aren’t laughing.
Four years since the stadium was announced, and seven months since it was approved by the Parliament, the Liberals still don’t know how they’re going to power the Macquarie Point stadium site. By the time Tas Networks presents a new set of options for powering the stadium in August, it will be a year since they developed the initial approach.
Answers to Budget Estimates questions on notice confirm MPDC will pay Veolia up to $2 million including GST to not proceed with it’s private distribution scheme. On top of that, almost $670 000 will be paid to private consultants overseeing the work with Veolia, and $23 000 to TasNetworks has been spent on a power option that has now been abandoned. Every cent of this is wasted public money and it’s emblematic of the Liberals casual regard for the public purse.
On top of that, it will take another three to six months for the functional design for power on the site to be produced. Until then, the true costs of powering the stadium won’t be known. It’s still unclear whether the Liberals have included this in their rocky $1.13 billion stadium price, or if they expect taxpayers to fork out more or pay for it through their energy bills.
It’s taken Right to Information requests and questioning from the Greens to reveal a private energy scheme plan for stadium that’s now been scrapped, costing a year of planning and millions of dollars. This is symbolic of the poor process and shambolic planning of a stadium proposal the experts warned was unsuitable for this site. Sadly, this waste and embarrassing about-face is sign of things to come and why Premier Rockliff’s cost cap and $1.13 billion construction cost claim is as unbelievable as it is impossible to meet.
