Labor MP Janie Finlay has accused the Tasmanian government of lending Liberty Bell Bay $20 million after it had received a June 2025 report that raised serious financial concerns about the smelter.
Finlay said the report was provided to both the Commonwealth and state governments weeks before the loan was announced on August 18 2025.
“On or around the 24th of June 2025, both the Commonwealth and the state governments were provided information that demonstrated that Liberty Bell Bay were insolvent,” she said.
She asked whether the government had made the decision knowing the company was insolvent, misunderstood the information it had received or acted on advice from others.
“Did they make a decision knowing that Liberty Bell Bay was insolvent? Did they not understand the information they had at hand?”
“Were they getting advice from others and who were those people that were advising them to take this action in those circumstances?” she said.
More than 200 workers lost their jobs when Liberty Bell Bay went into voluntary administration earlier this month.
A government spokesperson said the opposition was briefed by senior departmental officials during the caretaker period and the loan was “carefully structured to protect taxpayers”.
