Labor is calling for a parliamentary oversight committee to be established to monitor the troubled Spirits of Tasmania project, as the new ferries remain stranded overseas.
Labor leader Dean Winter said the state government now requires “constant supervision”, citing previous “incompetence and mismanagement” in the project.
He said the committee would request regular updates and hold hearings to ensure proper oversight and keep Tasmanians informed “until the boats are finally sailing out of the Mersey”.
“As the TCCI said, it has become glaringly obvious there are significant cultural and leadership issues in the Tasmanian Government and government businesses involved with the project,” he said.
“Business groups have called for more oversight of the Berth 3 project and the public are beyond fed up with the whole fiasco.”
Winter’s announcement came as Premier Jeremy Rockliff over the weekend proposed merging TT-Line, TasPorts and TasRail into a single entity to improve operations.
“This is another major step forward. I’m not interested in the opposition’s negativity,” Rockliff said.
“What I am interested in is reaching across all Parliamentarians and I’ve spoken to the Leader of the Labor Party, the Leader of the Greens and the crossbench today outlining the proposal and my willingness to work with them to ensure that we do improve our government business enterprises for the benefit of all Tasmanians.”
The proposed merger will be explored over the coming months, while the parliamentary oversight committee could be established when parliament resumes by the end of the month.
