Media Release

Peter Gutwein MP
Shadow Treasurer

Sunday 27th June 2010

Aird Must Explain When and What He Knew About Aurora's Difficulties

In Budget Estimates this coming week we intend to pursue the Treasurer over Aurora's financial situation and when the Government first understood the severity of it.

The Treasurer finally admitted last Thursday that Aurora had briefed him on its financial position in January 2010. However the Treasurer would have us believe that only certain aspects of their finances were discussed and not the full extent of their financial difficulties.

This doesn't ring true because Aurora had provided information to PricewaterhouseCoopers that explained their situation very clearly at around the same time that Aurora briefed the Treasurer.

It is simply not plausible that Aurora would provide one set of information to PricewaterhouseCoopers and another to the Treasurer.

Yet the Government still continued to make election promises regarding matters such as the now foregone 5% cap on electricity prices, a promise that the Government must have known it could not keep.

What is plausible is that the Government knew of Aurora's problems well before the election and Michael Aird chose to ignore that advice and has been intent ever since to mislead both the people of Tasmania and the Parliament.