Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has refused to say if a deal is in the works to lease the first new Spirit of Tasmania ferry to the Scottish Government for use as accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.
The Premier on Thursday said it would be “premature” to discuss the outcome of ongoing talks being conducted by state-owned ferry operator TT-Line, but did not rule the proposal first reported by Pulse out.
“When there are details to put forward to the Tasmanian community, when the outcome of negotiations are known, then, of course, those details will be known,” he said.
“If leasing arrangements are not possible, then we will bring the Spirit back to Tasmania.”
Labor leader Dean Winter has called the potential arrangement “completely outrageous”, arguing that using the vessel as “effectively a floating refugee camp” was not what Tasmanians had agreed to.
“If the Premier goes ahead and does this, when our ship comes to Tasmania eventually, it’ll be second hand and it won’t be the new ship the Tasmanians were promised,” he said.
“Just tell us the truth. Is the truth of the matter that they’ve been negotiating to turn our ship into a floating refugee camp for the last few months?”
“If that’s the case, he should have been upfront about it. We’ve been asking these questions for months. Tasmanians deserve to know what’s happening with their taxpayer dollars.”
The ferry is currently docked at the Port of Leith in Scotland and isn’t expected to enter service in Tasmania until 2027.
According to previous government statements, a decision on any leasing agreement is expected by the end of February.
