Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie says Jeremy Rockliff “shouldn’t be premier” and has slammed him for not getting “off his back side” following the release of a report into Hobart’s proposed stadium.
An independent report commissioned by the Tasmanian Government at the request of Jacqui Lambie Network’s state team has found the AFL’s proposed stadium will likely cost more than $1 billion.
The report also found the stadium’s projected economic benefits are overstated and that other, cheaper sites would be just as effective.
“It really blows me away. We have this great football park and it’s at York Park. It’s in Launceston,” Lambie told The Project on Monday evening.
“It is the centre of Tasmania. We should have the AFL Academy there, so everyone’s got a two-hour trip. That’s it.”
“But making us from this side [the north-west] go all the way down there [to Hobart] and the expense overnight for those kids.”
“A lot of these kids … are never going to get the opportunity to be able to afford to go down and watch the devils in the first place.”
“So quite frankly, the AFL, they can go and stick it fair where it fits.”
Launceston’s York Park is in line to receive a $130 million upgrade ahead of the team’s launch, partially funded by the Federal Government but conditional on the state keeping its AFL team.
Lambie said Premier Jeremy Rockliff needs to “get off his backside” and return to the negotiating table to secure a better deal for the state.
“They completely come in and over-asked. I actually think they come in as a joke and said there’s no way the Tasmanian state parliament will bite at this.”
“Quite frankly, if the premier doesn’t want to go and sit at the table with those AFL kingpins, then I bloody will.”
“I want to see roofs on people’s heads down here, not roofs on a stadium.”
Lambie believes the AFL would back down if the state held its ground.
“You’re talking to Jacqui Lambie here. She don’t give a s**t. OK, I don’t care. My job is to see what’s best for the nation and best for the country,” she said.
“If the Premier can’t go to the table and put his big boy pants on and get some of those conditions lifted so it’s economically more stable and beneficial for Tasmania, then quite frankly, [he] probably shouldn’t be Premier.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff has remained confident in the face of the report, saying the stadium “stacks up”.
“We will not be deterred from creating jobs, prosperity and opportunity for Tasmania. Especially young Tasmanians that want a future in our beautiful state,” he wrote.
“The stadium and the entire Mac Point urban renewal project will be a game changer for our state, creating jobs, boosting our economy and offering a world class precinct for generations to come.”
The project is currently awaiting assessment by the Tasmanian Planning Commission.
