Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mike Grainger, former chairman of TT-Line, gave evidence yesterday to the Public Accounts Committee in Tasmania in the hearing into the debacle of having nowhere to park the new TT-Line vessels. In late August, I met with Mike. His business, Liferaft Systems Australia, is extremely successful, built on the back of his hard work. But his other love was TT-Line, having served as the chairman of the company for more than 11 years. When I met with Mike, I could tell that he was disappointed and not because he was unfairly and outrageously sacked but because TT-Line had become the scapegoat for an incompetent minister, Tasmania's current Treasurer, Michael Ferguson. Mike said that this is the first time TT-Line has been gaslighted by a stakeholder minister. It's the first time that a minister has put their own political survival ahead of doing the right thing by the government business. What an absolute disgrace you are, Ferguson! Mike presented all the evidence that proves Michael Ferguson knew about TasPorts's blunders and put his own political survival before his ministerial responsibilities.

All this came at a cost. Mike was pushed out for threatening to tell the truth, and the CEO of TT-Line, Bernard Dwyer, resigned to focus on his mental health. These two men, who were great at their jobs, were backed into a corner by an incompetent minister, and don't even start me on the useless TasPorts. Ever since I have been in parliament, it has been an absolute waste of space. If you wanted to sack someone, you should have sacked everyone at TasPorts. The TT-Line actually kept detailed notes about what was going on, and Mike's evidence paints a picture of a minister who doesn't give a damn about doing his job properly or even Tasmanians for that matter. For Minister Ferguson it's clearly politics before Tasmanians.

In yesterday's Public Accounts Committee hearing, Mike set the record straight. He proved that the minister was briefed in detail on the challenges that the TT-Line was facing in dealing with TasPorts. He gave evidence that, despite knowing about it, Michael Ferguson said ridiculous stuff like, 'I just want you to play nicely in the sand pit.' I say to him: Why don't you grab a Tonka truck while you're there, mate? Amuse yourself. Really! And Michael Ferguson expects us to think he is competent enough to be a treasurer. Please! As Mike explained, the delays in ordering ships started way back in 2013. They were continued when Scott Morrison put pressure on Peter Gutwein to consider an Australian manufacturer. It is an unfortunate fact here in Australia that we don't have the capability to build the kinds of ships that we need to cross the Bass Strait. The constant merry-go-round must have been extremely frustrating for TT-Line. As a Tasmanian, what's infuriating is to see the TT-Line can build and deliver a top-class port in Geelong on time and on budget with the cooperation of GeelongPort. Mike says GeelongPort were amazing and they couldn't have done more to get the project moving, ensuring it was delivered as promised. That's called competence. But in Tassie we have TasPorts, those useless things down there, motivated by self-interest and blind to their own failures in crumbling ports and overdue and overbudget projects. It's like TasPorts has bent over backwards to make sure that the berth 1 development has been as difficult as possible for TT-Line. TasPorts is committed to latching onto TT-Line and sucking on the teat of the Tasmanian taxpayer dollar, getting as much taxpayer dollars out of the company as possible.

After all this saga, Michael Ferguson got a slap on the hand and was given another gift. Wait—it gets better. When the heat got a bit too much, he removed himself from the infrastructure portfolio. But, on the other hand, he was gifted another portfolio. Let's be clear: Michael Ferguson knew what was coming. After the last election, he split the infrastructure portfolio to enable the Minister for Transport to have oversight of TT-Line. This was all brought on by the political campaign by the Labor opposition—credit where credit is due. They were like dalmatians and realised that where there's smoke there's fire. But, to be clear, that is where my praise for Labor ends, because Labor relentlessly had the TT-Line in its firing line, holding a press conference at its terminal and constantly pointing the finger directly at TT-Line, even accusing them of breaching caretaker conventions. This was proven not to be the case.

At the end of the day, this is really a story about a stakeholder minister who has stuffed up so badly and continues to gaslight people who do not deserve it, who can actually get a job done. That's his problem, you see? Ferguson can't get anything done. He's useless. Apparently, the Premier is appearing before the Public Accounts Committee but not Minister Ferguson. What is wrong with the Public Accounts Committee down there? Why isn't Ferguson in front of you? What? Does he need a bodyguard? Jeremy Rockliff, the Premier, has to be a bodyguard for Ferguson these days. You can't be serious. When he was health minister, he tanked our health system. That's what he did. He drove our health system in Tasmania into the ground. That's what Ferguson did. That's what he's been doing. Michael Ferguson has to go. The Tasmanian people deserve better than a minister who can't play nicely in the sand pit and, sure as hell, wouldn't be able to handle a Tonka truck.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, I remind you that you still need to refer to people in state parliaments by their correct titles, as well as people in the other place.

Senate adjourned at 19:55