Media Release - Rockliff Must Fix TasBuild
MEDIA RELEASE
INDEPENDENT ON THE WEBSITE, OPTIONAL IN THE RULES: ROCKLIFF MUST FIX TASBUILD
5 November 2026
One Nation Tasmania has accused the Rockliff Government of sitting on its hands over TasBuild, after the $258 million construction fund conceded that the “independent” chair it advertises is not actually required to be independent.
TasBuild’s website and annual reports describe its chair as independent, but TasBuild has told the ABC there is no requirement for the chair to be independent of unions or employer groups. New chair Nicole Wells previously sat on the same board as a CEPU alternate director, according to TasBuild’s own profile. Past chairs include a former Liberal Party state president and a former TCCI chair. The Government has called TasBuild’s governance arrangements “outdated” but has not committed to legislation.
“Independent on the website, optional in the rules. That’s what Tasmanian builders are being asked to trust with $258 million,” One Nation Tasmania Leader Lee Hanson said.
“Every builder in this state is forced by law to pay into this fund, and workers rely on it for their long service leave. When the money is compulsory, the accountability has to be too.
“This isn’t a union problem or a Liberal problem. It’s a rules problem, and the Rockliff Government owns the rules.
“The Government has already stated that they are aware of industry concerns that the arrangements are outdated. So, where’s the bill? Tasmanians are sick of governments that acknowledge a problem and then do nothing about it.
“HIA Tasmania has the right model, and One Nation Tasmania backs it all the way.”
One Nation Tasmania is demanding Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Attorney-General Guy Barnett introduce legislation by mid-2027 adopting HIA Tasmania’s model:
• a statutory authority answerable to Parliament, with Public Accounts Committee scrutiny;
• a skills-based board appointed on merit by the Minister, with Treasurer oversight of the investment strategy; and
• an independent chair, with no current role in a union, employer group or political party, and any past links publicly declared.
“The Premier has a choice,” Ms Hanson said. “Write independence into the law or explain to every builder in Tasmania why he won’t.”
ENDS