Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff says the state election result sends a “very strong signal” to the Legislative Council that Tasmanians are overwhelmingly backing the Macquarie Point stadium.
Speaking on Sunday, Rockliff highlighted what he called strong voter support for the $945 million Hobart stadium project tied to Tasmania’s AFL team.
“Two thirds of the Tasmanian people voted for pro-stadium candidates,” Rockliff said.
“That also sends a very strong signal, in my view, to the Legislative Council, which also play a very important and key role when it comes to scrutinising legislation.”
The council will have the final say on whether enabling legislation for the stadium goes ahead. Labor has already said it will back the Liberals to pass it through the lower house.
Rockliff’s comments come as he works to form a minority government after Saturday’s election, which saw the Liberals win the most seats but fall short of a majority.
Rockliff will meet with crossbench members, who are mostly against the stadium, next week.
“I won’t be abandoning my plans for the stadium,” he said.
“We’re on a pathway. There are very clear timelines that we need to meet. We’re committed to move forward with enabling legislation.”
The stadium is a key part of Tasmania securing an AFL licence for the new Tasmania Devils club.
In a statement on Sunday, the club said it is ready to work with the next government and newly elected MPs.
“We are focused on entering the AFL and AFLW by 2028, in order to do that we have several timeframes that must be met,” the club said.
“We are very eager to work with the government to realise these. In the meantime, we will stay focused on building our club.”
“We have no time to lose.”
