19 May 2026

Mr GAFFNEY (Mersey) - Mr President, I rise today as Tasmania stands at a crossroads. The decisions we make in this parliament shape the future of this state for generations to come. They determine not only the economic future of Tasmania, but whether ordinary Tasmanians can still trust this government. At the epicentre of this moment stands the Marinus Link and the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD), better known as Project Marinus.

Just recently, Tasmanians watched in total disbelief as TasNetworks began compulsory acquisition process to force easements over private land for the NWTD project. Whilst affected landholders received an official TasNetworks notice to treat in January, they were given less than 24 hours notice that their properties are about to be publicly listed in the Gazette. Imagine learning within 24 hours at your family's farm, your livelihood, your home, your future is about to become the subject of public speculation within the compulsory acquisition powers of the government.

What makes this even more troubling is that there are ongoing TASCAT appeals challenging current approvals connected to the NWTD and Marinus developments. Yet despite these proceedings, TasNetworks has pressed ahead with compulsory acquisition processes as though the outcome is already settled. What message does that send to the Tasmanian people? What message does it send to those who exercise their lawful right to seek a review before an independent tribunal? It sends a message that decisions have already been made behind closed doors by politicians and government officers regardless of what the tribunal may ultimately decide.

The perception strikes at the very foundations of due process and the rule of law. We must ensure the government and its agents respect tribunal processes. They are not merely procedural obstacles to be ignored whilst government machinery rides roughshod over anything it disagrees with.

The Energy minister has repeatedly spoken about the need to keep project deadlines on track. There is a real difference between responsible governments and reckless endangerment. Pushing ahead with these projects to satisfy speculative timelines is a cavalier endeavour, the act of a caddish government. Sometimes the bravest and wisest decision a government can make is to pause. There are many reasons why Tasmanians should pause and seriously consider Project Marinus.

Earlier this year, a deeply troubling piece of research was published as a major nationwide cohort study in Switzerland. It examined the effect of long term residential exposure to electromagnetic fields from high voltage power lines and ran over an 18 year period in a study involving millions of people. There was found to be an association between long term exposure to high-voltage power lines and increased mortality from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia - a shocking outcome. Before our government commits Tasmania to more overhead power transmission infrastructure, we must be certain we are not exposing future generations to risks we do not fully understand. The authors themselves acknowledge that more research is needed. Scientific caution is important. The precautionary principle is equally important. If credible evidence suggests the possibility of long term harm to human health, governments have a duty to proceed with the utmost caution.

Considering this, the government must reconsider burying all future transmission infrastructure. It's a proposal the Energy minister has previously rejected as being too expensive. Yet, the entire 90 kilometre length of the mainland connection will be buried 1.2 metres underground so that existing land use and agriculture will be unaffected. I assume the additional cost will be paid for out of our share and we'll have to make do with the overhead power lines that also kill our migrating birds and towers that obstruct our farmers' paddocks.

Public confidence in Project Marinus has also been shaken by the government's handling of the Marinus final investment decision. The Energy minister signed the agreement with the federal government during the caretaker period. Serious questions remain as to whether he possessed proper statutory or executive authority at the time to buy in Tasmania to the Marinus Agreement.

The government promised that the whole-of-state business case would be publicly released 30 days before the final investment decision. That promise was broken. There was no informed public discussion, no public scrutiny. Essentially, Tasmanians had no say in the largest proposed investment in our history and when the business case was at last released, Tasmanians were faced with pages upon pages of heavy redaction. Parliamentarians themselves describe entire sections being blacked out, including matters relating to transmission pricing impacts, project debt exposure, Hydro profitability projections and financial risks.

Tasmanians have every right to ask what risks are being concealed, especially when Treasury's own fiscal sustainability report warns that Tasmania's total public sector debt could well approach $146 billion or more by 2040 unless corrective action is taken. We are approaching a period of extreme fiscal danger; $146 billion is not merely a number on a spreadsheet, it is the certainty of future generations inheriting a fully indebted Tasmania going backwards with a crumbling public service and fewer opportunities. We must stop and carefully examine whether Tasmania can truly afford multibillion dollar developments of this scale.

I call on the government to halt all preliminary works and compulsory acquisitions associated with Project Marinus until all legal appeals have been fully resolved. I additionally call on the government to reassess the redactions within the whole-of-state business case and release all information that is unjustifiably withheld from the Tasmanian people. Finally, I call on the government to ensure that any questions regarding ministerial authority and the legality of agreements entered into during the caretaker period are examined by an independent authority.

This parliament is approaching critical budget decisions at the moment that may well be a turning point in Tasmania's history. What we decide now will determine the future of Tasmania long after every person currently sitting in this Chamber is gone. That is an enormous responsibility and one we must take very seriously.