Former chairman says TasPorts are ‘unfairly blamed’ for new Spirits fiasco

Stephen Bradford
We make mistakes, we have complainants, but one of those mistakes was not the third one, and we were unfairly blamed for this fiasco.

Leon Compton
How unfairly accused, Stephen? What is it about the way blame is distributed that you feel is unfair?

Stephen Bradford
Leon, let me walk you through all the documents, and this may be instructive for the Ruth Forrest committee, because all of these documents could or should be available to her. In June 2020, four years ago, I proposed to the chairman of TT-Line that he complete all the berths in Devonport for the same price he was paying in Geelong. He did what Michael did to me quite often, he got angry and said: how could you say that? You haven’t seen the deal. I said no, I haven’t seen the deal. I think this is a good option. I’ll take the punt. Nothing moved forward.

Leon Compton
To be clear, as evidence, and I hope I’m not misquoting him, I didn’t notice this but was watching it at the time, Michael Granger said that you refused to build the port infrastructure that the TT-Line needed. As far as I remember, his words were: you refused to do business with his company. You refused to build this infrastructure.

Stephen Bradford
There are two things there. He had such a proposal. He later received proposals as evidence from Anthony Donald, where Anthony offered them to manage the pier. And in the evidence that Dwyer provided, he said we offered, TasPorts offered to manage the project, but he wasn’t going to do it because we wouldn’t pay for the infrastructure. Now, Leon, in simple terms for your listeners, what this means is: if you decide to renovate your kitchen, you have problems, your friend offers to help, and you say, yes, you can help, but you may pay for it. kitchen.

Leon Compton
No, the tradition, Stephen Bradford, is that you build a building and then agree to a 30-year lease from the company that operates the port. You are engaged in construction. They pay you rent. This is often how these deals are done. You managed the Port of Melbourne. You have mastered the TT-Line. You know this well. This is usually how the deal is structured. Why didn’t you go for it?

Stephen Bradford
No, this is not actually what happens in Australian ports or most places in the world. Ports – berths, dredging, fencing are carried out by the port corporation. Where there is a common tenant user in Tassie, the cruise industry is an obvious example. The port builds the connecting infrastructure between the ship and the port. In a container terminal, the terminal operator, the lessee, builds the connecting infrastructure between the ship and the port. In single-use terminals such as TT-line and Sea Road, the critical connecting infrastructure is built by the tenant. The tenant builds the ramp because, after all, it is their ship. They must connect to the earth. They are doing the sidewalk and passenger terminal.

Leon Compton
And yet, Stephen Bradford, that didn’t happen in Geelong. In Geelong the port has sorted itself out. It’s on time. We don’t know what the budget is, but I’ve been through this a couple of times, as have many in our audience, and the Port of Geelong made it possible. Why hasn’t your organization done this here?

Stephen Bradford
Because that was not our role. And if I were sitting on the board of TT-Line and thinking about this, and Geelong was doing such a wonderful job of building this infrastructure, why wouldn’t you contract them to do this work in Devonport?

Leon Compton
What is the answer to this question? Do you have an answer?

Stephen Bradford
Let me follow the timeline. TT-Line’s 23 annual report devoted an entire page, page 22, to their responsibilities in Devonport. This is absolutely accurate. They said what they needed to do and got to work. In the second half of the 23rd calendar, TasPorts often informed the minister that they were in trouble. And how did we know this? Mr. Donald noticed this from his interactions with them and we have already appointed an independent panel of three experts who report to our board of directors. They reported on the Devonport project. Their written reports state that TT-Line had problems.

Leon Compton
So why, in all of this, with people who were clearly interested in getting it right, why didn’t a flash go off, an alarm go off, and someone not step in and solve this problem? Because our listener, Stephen Bradford, is still looking at a ship that is about to arrive, and another one is soon behind, with nowhere to moor.

Stephen Bradford
Yes, we reported that, as Mr. Ferguson said in his evidence, there was a problem. He repeatedly raised the issue with TT-Line and says they denied there was a problem. There’s nothing to see here. You can prove this by looking at the board documents of TT-Line and TasPorts for this six-month period. What did the boards say? Because Mr Grainger and Mr Dwyer would certainly have told their fellow directors what TasPorts was reporting and their denials. Surely they would do it. This will be in writing. And at least one other director would raise the ball to say: are you sure they’re wrong? This annual report was submitted in mid-October. In November, Ferguson decided to bring the parties together, a smart move to see what was going on and what could be done to fix it. Privately, I suggested to either Mr. Ferguson or his personal office that a project integrator be appointed.

Leon Compton
So someone has to get everyone together and decide who does what?

Stephen Bradford
To get the facts for Mr. Ferguson.

Leon Compton
So you suggested it. What did Michael Ferguson do as infrastructure minister and treasurer?

Stephen Bradford
He did what I expected of him. He called us together. I was in his office in Launceston and Mr Granger was on Zoom. Towards the end of the meeting he made this proposal. Mr. Donald immediately agreed and offered to finance it. The minister said: “I don’t think it’s necessary.” The growth of the state will do this. Michael Granger, I would say, was reluctant and grumpy. But this led to the appointment of Mr Peter Gemel. I have never met Mr. Jemell, but he is an outstanding expert in the field of project integration. He has completed his report and it is now available to the Ruth Forrest Committee. It clearly states what is happening.

Leon Compton
At the end of the day, Stephen Bradford, who should take the blame for what some are calling the biggest infrastructure failure in Tasmania’s history?

Stephen Bradford
I won’t say who should take the blame, Leon. I find it hard to believe that a group of seven people, five on my board or seven on theirs, listening to the evidence, wouldn’t say what was going on. Because from the very beginning our directors told me: you must tell the minister about this. And I did it.

Leon Compton
Stephen Bradford, has TasPorts been unfairly slandered in this story?

Stephen Bradford
Obviously so.

Leon Compton
If this is followed by a fundamental expulsion from the board, your organization, the Spirit of Tasmania or the TT-Line and a reset with greater emphasis on ensuring that wherever negotiations are organized and wherever sandboxes are held, that interests are prioritized over time Tasmania?

Stephen Bradford
At TasPorts we have five directors. Two of us are retiring over time and will not be reappointed. The two directors up for reappointment, Mr Hooper and Ms Amara Doyle, are outstanding individuals. Highly qualified, does his job well. If they were not reappointed for a new term, it would be a shame. And the third director is still active. She’s doing well.

Leon Compton
Thanks for talking to us this morning.