Jacqui Lambie has called for the resignation of Treasurer Michael Ferguson following the ‘disaster’ of the Spirit of Tasmania ferry debacle.
The Senator, whose party’s state MPs prop up the government, accused Ferguson of “grotty tactics” and incompetence in the wake of the incident, saying his handling of the project has been a failure.
Her demands come after Premier Jeremy Rockliff forced the resignation of TT-Line Chairman Michael Grainger on Wednesday evening.
“After a decade in government, Mr Ferguson is naïve enough to think he can blame everyone else. The fish rots from the head down and it’s pretty clear that Mr Ferguson is at the head of this rot,” Lambie said.
“Mr Ferguson oversaw the two Government Owned Enterprises involved in this saga, but somehow, he didn’t see this coming.”
“It is about time Michael Ferguson grew up, manned up and took responsibility for his actions, or should I say, lack thereof.”
“The TT-Line said they would tell the truth, which spooked Mr Ferguson, forcing him to resort to grotty tactics to keep the truth cloaked in secrecy.”
“The Tasmanian people deserved to know what Mr Grainger would have told the Public Accounts Committee.”
On Thursday, Transport Minister Eric Abetz said Grainger’s press release challenging the evidence presented to the committee was a “step too far”.
“We as a government determined that it was important to have a change of direction and get the focus on only one thing and that is delivery of this project,” he said.
Damian Bugg, who has been on the board of TT-Line since 2019, will serve as the interim chair.
