Legal challenge throws Marinus Link timeline into doubt
A LATE-STAGE legal challenge in Tasmania has thrown the construction timeline for the $5 billion Marinus Link energy interconnector into further doubt with direct implications for South Gippsland landholders along the cable route.
Burnie resident Carran Doolan backed by a coalition of residents known as Tas Power Democracy has launched an appeal through the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal seeking to halt planning permits for two converter stations and a switching station at Heybridge.
The appeal follows Burnie City Council granting the Heybridge site a permit in December which was the last permit required before construction could begin.
The appellants argue that permitting each part of the project separately prevented cumulative environmental and planning impact assessments and that no permit should have been granted before a proper assessment of site contamination was conducted.
Any delay in Tasmania inevitably pushes back the Victorian construction schedule because Marinus Link operates as a single integrated system.
The project involves laying high-voltage direct current cables under Bass Strait from Tasmania to Waratah Bay before running approximately 90 kilometres underground through South Gippsland to connect to the existing network at Hazelwood in the Latrobe Valley.
The total route stretches 345 kilometres.
For landholders who have endured years of surveying and easement negotiations along the South Gippsland corridor the challenge introduces fresh uncertainty around compensation timelines and civil construction disruptions.
The legal challenge comes as the project undergoes a leadership transition with Stephanie McGregor appointed as CEO Designate.
At the South Gippsland Jobs Expo at Leongatha Memorial Hall on March 19 Marinus Link told attendees the project was close to commencing major construction in the third quarter of this year with a project office planned for Peart Street in Leongatha by the end of April.
The TasCAT appeal now represents the last major legal obstacle standing in the way of construction.
