A new fleet of Spirit of Tasmania ferries looking to support “local content” will include engines built in Finland.
The state's Liberal government and TT-Line have been promoting the $100 million fit-out of ‘local content’ for the new ships since 2021, but the project has faced multiple delays and huge budget blowouts.
In December, documents released under right-to-information laws showed that parts of TT-Line's spend included items such as Apple iPads and British gas detectors.
Additionally on Tuesday, TT-Line confirmed that the ships' main engines were “built in Finland”, marking a further step back from the local content aim.
Tasmanian Labor leader Dean Winter called the engines “another lie from a government that has completely bungled this project”, while Cabinet minister Jane Howlett dismissed the claims, and said the government was "getting on with the job".