A new petition is calling on Tasmania’s Legislative Council to reject proposed legislation that would fast-track approval for the contentious Macquarie Point stadium.
The petition, launched today by anti-stadium advocate Janice Overett, aims to halt what the Greens describe as an attempt to circumvent proper planning processes for the stadium project.
The move comes after Jeremy Rockliff announced this month he would bypass the Tasmanian Planning Commission to get the stadium approved, a decision which was supported by the Labor opposition.
“The legislation Jeremy Rockliff and Eric Abetz are working to jam through Parliament by July is a complete subversion of proper process,” Hobart Greens MLC Cassy O’Connor said.
The petition calls on Legislative Council members to ‘reject the improper stadium approval bill’, allow the Tasmanian Planning Commission assessment to continue and to renegotiate the state’s deal for a team with the AFL
“A project of this scale, cost and complexity cannot be rubber-stamped by Parliament. MPs and MLCs are not planning experts,” O’Connor said.
Organiser Janice Overett hopes to make the petition one of the biggest ever tabled in the Legislative Council.
“The Premier had no mandate to accept the AFL conditions, terms no other state has been required to meet, including the demand for a roofed stadium,” Overett said.
“Tasmania already has a high-quality stadium in Launceston, currently undergoing $130m upgrade. There is simply no need to commit further public funds to a new facility.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff has described the Mac Point stadium as “one of the most scrutinised” projects in Tasmania’s history.
“We cannot afford not to deliver this project and we cannot afford delays,” he said at Mac Point earlier this month.
“It will drive economic growth, deliver jobs and, of course, mean Tasmania gets the teams that are rightfully ours.”
