Millions for Marinus study puts cart before horse: Milne.
The Morrison government’s grant of millions to study the proposed $3.5 billion Marinus link between the mainland and Tasmania is putting the cart before the horse at taxpayers’ expense, Bob Brown Foundation director Christine Milne said in Hobart today.
“Marinus is to service the so-called Battery of the Nation (BotN), the proposed pumped-storage hydro schemes in the Tasmanian highlands. But there has been no costing of the BotN which will cost more billions. Until that cost is revealed and independently checked, it is highly imprudent to be spending money advancing Marinus. That is putting the cart before the horse. It is likely the cost of BotN will make the whole project a white elephant,” Christine Milne said.
“In terms of jobs for Tasmanians, these billion would create far more jobs on projects in Tasmania servicing Tasmanians rather than draining out of Tasmania to service the mainland with expensive electricity,” she said.