The Greens have escalated their opposition to the Macquarie Point stadium, taking their fight directly to AFL headquarters in a move supporters of the project say shows a deep misunderstanding of the deal behind Tasmania’s long-awaited team.
In a direct appeal to AFL CEO Andrew Dillon, the Greens have called on the league to drop its requirement for a new stadium at Macquarie Point, a condition that remains non-negotiable for locking in the Devils’ AFL licence.
“Tasmanians have made it crystal clear they strongly oppose building a billion-dollar plus stadium at Macquarie Point,” Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said. “If the Premier won’t stand up to the AFL, the Greens will.”
The stadium has become a rocky subject in Tasmanian politics, with the Greens arguing the money is better spent on social services, while the government and tourism leaders champion the economic potential of a major waterfront precinct.
In their letter to the AFL, Greens MPs pointed to the team’s 200,000-plus membership sign-ups as evidence the Devils can succeed without a stadium at Macquarie Point event being built.
“We have proven we don’t need a new stadium to make our team viable. It will be a success because of the enthusiasm of Tasmanians,” the letter said.
But Government Minister Jacquie Petrusma rejected the Greens’ push, saying the AFL has made its stance clear.
“It is really simple,” she said. “No stadium. No team. The AFL has stuck to that and we are very clear with Tasmanians.”
“We are fighting for what we know will not only give us economic growth, it will give us more jobs, but most importantly it will give Tasmania its very first AFL team.”
Labor leader Dean Winter also poured cold water on the Greens’ approach, saying their position ignores the basic terms of the deal.
“Tasmanians can choose here between getting an AFL team that we’ve wanted for decades or taking Rosalie Woodruff’s approach and opposing absolutely everything,” he said.
“Her first instinct is always to oppose. My instinct is that Tasmania needs to have an economy that’s growing. That’s why we support new infrastructure.”
Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Amy Hills said the benefits of the stadium precinct would go far beyond football matches.
“A thriving precinct right here on the waterfront that is activated 365 days a year,” Hills said. “If you go to Adelaide you can see that in action right now.”
“It’s a fantastic place to be. People are walking around, there’s places to stay, there’s tourism opportunities to explore and why wouldn’t we want that for Tasmania as well?”
But the Greens argue Tasmania has more pressing priorities, pointing to homelessness, busy hospitals and poor education results as better uses for public money.
Tasmania spends $375 million on health every 45 days, the same amount set aside by the state government for the construction of a stadium at Macquarie Point.
