After all, if the first of the new ships comes sailing up the Mersey early next year the Liberal government will enjoy telling the Labor MP how wrong he was.

Yet, if you like a flutter, you would not want to bet against him.

Punters study the form guide, and on form the German shipyard charged with building the new Spirits has had a rough trot.

Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft - or the more manageable FSG - was almost ruined by its failure to deliver a ship to Irish Ferries on schedule, with late fees meaning the company lost money on the deal.

It's looking likely that it will run many months later in delivering a ship for Brittany Ferries, and it could even lose another order for Irish Ferries.

Since news broke of FSG's troubles, the Hodgman government - which once crowed about how it was going to build Tasmania's new Spirits two years early - has tried to keep it all at arm's length.

Questions that it should be able to answer are not being answered, and instead all Tasmanians hear are platitudes about how TT-Line has its full confidence.

Last week the government released one of its quarterly updates, but when questioned why there was no mention of the state's largest infrastructure project it said there were no "deliverables" for TT-Line over the coming few months.

We can only assume this means the design of the new ships won't be finalised in that period, and actual work almost certainly won't begin.

The clock is ticking and, considering FSG's form, it is difficult to believe even the first of the next generation of Bass Strait ferries will come into service next year.

Of course, all of this is largely beyond the government's control, and switching to another builder now may not see the ships built any sooner.

Still, what is within its control - and its responsibilities - is being honest and upfront with Tasmanians.

They're our ships; we have a right to know.