Sports Minister Nick Duigan has walked back plans to give $100,000 to the North Launceston Football Club after its president appeared alongside Labor during the state election campaign.
The issue resurfaced in parliament on Tuesday, two weeks after Duigan admitted at a scrutiny hearing that he “chose not to sign” the funding letter because club president Adrian Hall “stood next to” then-Labor leader Dean Winter.
Both major parties had pledged support for the 103-year-old club during the lead-up to July’s state election.
A draft letter sent to Hall from a Liberal campaign staffer – now Duigan’s chief of staff – stated a “re-elected Tasmanian Liberal Government will commit $100,000 to enable design and planning work to be undertaken around a proposed new facility for NLFC”.
Acting Labor leader Janie Finlay today accused Duigan of withdrawing funding “simply because they stood with Labor for a photo”.
“The fact is that your chief of staff sent a letter to the club president Adrian Hall and stated that the Liberal government would provide the club with $100,000 to plan for their future,” she said.
“Mr Hall says he only learned through the media that the funding would be axed.”
Duigan told parliament he remained committed to the club’s future.
“I don’t resile from anything that is in the contents of that letter,” he said. “That was my position then.”
He said discussions had occurred “in the context of an election” and the club “preferred another option”.
A working group including the club, Launceston City Council, Stadiums Tasmania and the NTFA has since been established to explore alternatives.
The club faces an uncertain future at York Park due to a $130 million stadium upgrade that does not include team facilities.
Duigan said he recently met Hall at the stadium to discuss options.
“If there is an ask of government – it doesn’t exist at the moment … we will absolutely consider that,” he said.
After the November scrutiny hearing, Hall told the ABC he had been “chasing up a signature ever since the election” and expected the commitment to “be honoured”.
The club’s annual general meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.
