THERE’S an eerie feeling of deja vu
about Project Marinus, the second electricity interconnector proposed for Bass
Strait.
Both major political parties at the
federal level announced support for the project before the May election. The
recently released business case contains media releases from Prime Minister
Morrison and then opposition leader Shorten. One can’t help but feel the
business case is really a search for reasons for doing something that has
already been decided.
It was the same story 20 years ago.
Both the Bacon government and the previous Rundle government supported
Basslink. In early 2000, Hydro Tasmania signed a preliminary agreement for the
construction of Basslink which was built by Basslink Pty Ltd (BPL). At this
early stage it was not an irrevocable commitment, but Hydro proceeded as if it
was.