“Influencer activation”: Concern over TasNetworks’ tactics to promote Marinus Link

Consultants selected by TasNetworks to run a $1 million national public relations and lobbying campaign advised the agency to “subtly activate” a network of “influencers” to make a public case for the proposed $3.8 billion Marinus transmission link to Victoria, internal documents reveal.

A Right to Information (RTI) document released to Tasmanian Inquirer reveals a PR and lobbying consortium headed by the Canberra-based PR firm 89 Degrees East proposed an “influencer engagement” strategy followed by a phase of “influencer activation” to promote the controversial electricity transmission project.

The strategy involved identifying “a group of trusted voices from the key regional areas” of northwest Tasmania and Gippsland, in Victoria. The document said they would be drawn from a range of sectors, including “energy, environment, business, Indigenous and all tiers of government” with the aim that TasNetworks would “utilise this group as public advocates for the project”.

The development of an “influencer engagement strategy” and “influencer activation” were identified as two “key deliverables” of the consortium’s work as part of what Tasmanian Inquirer earlier this week revealed was a $1 million publicly funded campaign to “positively influence perceptions” about Marinus Link.

Dr Tom Baxter, a corporate governance expert, said TasNetworks appeared to be trying to “buy a social licence” for the proposal without disclosing its relationship with the influencers.  “It is unclear how much has been disclosed to those whose perception has been influenced, including the voting public,” he said.

TasNetworks signed a two-year contract, with the option of a third year, with the 89 Degrees East-led consortium in late March 2021 after asking for proposals that “targeted key stakeholders and influencers, at the Tasmanian, Victorian and national level to positively influence perception of Marinus Link and supporting transmission”. Two lobbying firms – the Canberra-based DPG Advisory Solutions and the Hobart-based Tasmanian Font PR – are subcontractors on the project.

The original cost of the project has not been disclosed, but the value of the contract was increased to $1,075,000 at the end of last year.

TasNetworks executive says “curb this campaign” after union official criticised Marinus

In its call for proposals from PR firms, TasNetworks said it wanted help with “monitoring and assessment of media mentions of Marinus Link over time” and the development of “strategy and tactical advice to increase positive engagement” with the media and commentators.

When the Tasmanian state secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, John Short, criticised the proposed Marinus Link, he had no idea his comments would ring alarm bells within the TasNetworks campaign team.

Short told The Mercury in October 2021 that “Marinus will end up as an expensive white elephant – or a white snake that will end up biting us on the arse”.

He argued that increased renewable energy generation in Tasmania should be used to support industrial projects that created local jobs, such as green hydrogen production, rather than be exported to support new industries elsewhere.

The day the article was published, Font PR’s Brad Stansfield emailed the article to nine members of the Marinus project campaign team, including Benjamin White, the Head of Stakeholder Relations for Project Marinus.

White was concerned about Short’s comments. “Thanks for sharing Brad – suggest we need a timely strategy on how to best respond/curb this campaign,” he wrote.

White suggested that in response TasNetworks seek statements in support of Marinus Link from three people - the independent economist Saul Eslake, the consultant and former Hydro Tasmania chief strategy officer Andrew Catchpole and Michael Bailey, the chief executive of the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI).

“My first thought is to initiate a clear 3rd party piece - perhaps what we have in train with Saul Eslake, and/or Andrew Catchpole or Michael Bailey at TCCI,” he wrote.

In the PR industry, the benefit of having a ‘third party’ endorse an advocacy position is it removes perception of self-interest.

“They are spending a million bucks on a PR campaign to spruik a project on which there are no details. If I were an employee, I wouldn’t feel too happy about that.”

Ruth Forrest

White suggested the response to Short’s comments should say hydro power would be used “sparingly” as part of Marinus, but the link would enable more wind generation and surplus solar power from the mainland to support projects in Tasmania. These could include hydrogen plants and “other future industries like data centres etc”. White volunteered to “get something set up in diaries for a few of us in the first instance”.

TasNetworks told Tasmanian Inquirer the proposed meeting did not occur, and there is no public record of any further response.

Short was bemused by TasNetworks’ response to his comments. “Is this about trying to silence dissent? It is disappointing that TasNetworks would go to that degree to try and paint a picture of the project being that good that it should just go ahead without question,” he said.

Aside from closely monitoring media coverage, the documents reveal TasNetworks’ PR advisers trading in political gossip. In one email titled “Intel”, Stansfield wrote that an adviser to the Energy Minister, Guy Barnett, was “a reasonable enough operator but I suggest wouldn’t know AC from DC when it comes to energy.”

In an email to the 15-strong TasNetworks PR campaign team, Stansfield noted that a weekly media coverage report on Marinus prepared by 89 Degrees East referred to comments by the Legislative Council MP from the north west coast, Ruth Forrest. Stansfield mentioned a column by respected economics commentator John Lawrence that had been published in The Mercury that day, and observed Lawrence was “closely professionally associated with Ruth”.

Lawrence had challenged the project’s benefits for Tasmanian electricity consumers and dubbed TasNetworks “the government anointed Marinus spruiker”. Forrest said she had hired Lawrence, an accountant and a constituent, on several occasions to advise on various topics. “I have been open about that,” she said.

She queried how TasNetworks could justify the spending on the 89 Degrees East contract while there were reports the utility was looking to cut costs and potentially up to 300 jobs. “They are spending a million bucks on a PR campaign to spruik a project on which there are no details. If I was an employee there, I wouldn’t be feeling too happy about that,” she said.

TasNetworks was approached for clarification on whether “influencers” were paid and if they were required to disclose their relationship with the utility when making public comments. A response was also sought to the comments by Tom Baxter and Ruth Forrest. No response was received.