Premier Rockliff and his government have significant questions to answer about the power deal and any other commitments for Singaporean AI data centre company Firmus.
Multi-billion-dollar Firmus have been touring Asia and Australia on an investment roadshow, seeking final buy in before an expected ASX lunge in July, and attracting intensive national media attention and scepticism from established fund managers.
It has been widely reported a central component of Firmus’ pitch is the massive 104-megawatt power deal with Aurora that Firmus co-CEO Oliver Curtis revealed to Tasmanians on ABC Radio in March. Yet Tasmanians still have no answers about how this deal came about, when power assurances were first made and by who, or what impact it may have on other existing and future energy customers. That’s not to mention what confidence has been offered for future supply, given the present Aurora deal is for three years.
Given Premier Rockliff’s election campaign press conference with Firmus endorsing their project, it’s reasonable to ask if assurances for accessing power came from the Premier, and if it was given during the Caretaker period.
It’s also reasonable to wonder about the timing of Firmus revealing this power deal on ABC Radio. This interview occurred right before the company launched the international roadshow that is critically important for the company’s journey to public listing. Did Firmus’ private business interests and plans impact the timing of this deal being signed or the way it became public?
Has the Tasmanian Government received any financial advice on the state’s fiscal, material, or reputational commitment to this company?
There are so many questions about Firmus and this power deal and the only thing that’s clear is there has been no transparency whatsoever.
There are undoubtedly commercial-in-confidence elements of this deal, but a lot more than that has been withheld from the public. This is unacceptable when the deal of state assets is being used to pitch for multi billions of dollars of investment into a private company that is soliciting scepticism from financial analysts and academics across the country.
The Premier and his government must urgently answer these significant questions and provide as much information as possible about any agreement that is highly consequential for Tasmania.
