Former TT-Line chair Michael Grainger has savaged the Tasmanian Government when speaking publicly for the first time since he was sacked. He did not hold back when telling a parliamentary committee who he thinks it to blame for the bungled building of two new spirit of Tasmania Ferries and port infrastructure.
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00:00A SAC chairman finally telling his side of the spirit saga.
00:07I work with six premiers and ten government ministers from both sides of parliament and
00:13have never witnessed such an appalling lack of support from government as experienced
00:17over the previous 12 months.
00:19After 11 years at the helm, Mike Granger left TT Line in August, the first casualty of an
00:25over-budget delayed project to build two new ferries and port infrastructure for them
00:30to berth at.
00:31I received an email from the shareholder ministers advising that they and the government had
00:36lost confidence in me and unless I resigned by 7pm that day my position as chairman would
00:41be terminated effective immediately.
00:44The parliamentary hearing largely focusing on delays in building the Spirit's permanent
00:48home at Devonport, which won't be finished until 2026.
00:53Lack of access to the site remains the single biggest contributor to the delay of berth
00:57three.
00:58Mr Granger said TT Line had raised concerns for years with former infrastructure minister
01:03Michael Ferguson.
01:05I said minister our single biggest risk in this whole project is TAS ports and berth
01:13three.
01:14Minister Ferguson replied that I needed to learn to play in the sand pit with TAS ports.
01:21Some of the time frames are murky.
01:24Labor claims Mr Ferguson has misled parliament.
01:27He denies it.
01:28What we have seen with this entire episode is instance after instance after instance
01:34of where this government has failed to act, where issues have been raised, the minister
01:38has been made aware of these problems and nothing has been done about it.
01:42The government's looking at upgrading the berth used by the existing Spirits as a stop
01:46gap.
01:47Mr Granger's report into how long that could take and how much it would cost is due later
01:51this month.
01:52But the inquiry heard there are serious safety concerns about using the berth.
01:58We've already had two incidents, serious incidents.
02:03Why would we put a ship that's longer, wider and deeper into the same position?
02:10If the temporary solution doesn't go ahead, the ships could be stashed overseas.
02:15Could you just go into a bit more about why Singapore is being considered as a place to dock?
02:19We've looked at anywhere that it's cheaper than Hobart.
02:23Premier Jeremy O'Keefe will face the inquiry next month.
02:26He says he's focused on getting the new Spirits sailing as soon as possible.