Pressure is mounting on the state government to drop its exclusive deal with LK Group and put prime public waterfront land at Wilkinsons Point on the open market, with the issue now hitting the floor of Tasmania’s upper house.
The 15-hectare Glenorchy site, 15 minutes from the Hobart CBD, was earmarked in February 2025 for a $500 million transformation into a multi-use retail precinct, family resort and hotel complex.
LK Group owner and billionaire Larry Kestelman was last year reported to also be determined to chase down an Aldi store for the site.
Independent Elwick MLC Bec Thomas moved a matter of public importance debate in the Legislative Council on Tuesday, accusing the government of secrecy and avoiding competition.
Thomas said the site had become “a case study in how not to manage the sale of public assets”.
“Wilkinsons Point is not the premier’s land,” she said. “It is Crown land. It belongs to the people of Tasmania.”
“After almost seven years of negotiations, announcements and re-announcements, media releases and promises, Tasmanians still do not know the full cost of this proposal.”
“They do not know the full terms. They do not know what protections exist for taxpayers. They do not know why alternative options have never been properly tested.”
“They do not know what obligations the government may be assuming on behalf of taxpayers and they do not know why the government continues to pursue an exclusive arrangement that appears to have no end date, no performance benchmarks and no obvious exit strategy.”
Thomas, a former Glenorchy councillor and mayor, said the council struck only a 120-day exclusive negotiation period with LK Group in 2019 before the state government took over.
A September 2025 auditor-general’s report found significant shortcomings in advice and process. Thomas said the proposal’s “uniqueness” had since fallen away.
“What is so compelling about this proposal that it cannot be tested in the marketplace? If it is genuinely the best proposal, surely it would survive open competition?” she said.
“Surely it would emerge as the preferred option. Surely it would withstand public scrutiny.”
The call has also been backed by Labor leader Josh Willie, who made the same demand at the site today.
He said the state government should put the land on the open market.
“We have a premier that is hell-bent on dealing exclusively with a billionaire rather than taking it to open market,” Willie said.
“If the state government is going to connect the infrastructure and rezone the land, I’m sure there will be many proponents that are interested in developing this land.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff has defended the deal, saying the land sat dormant for decades and the council was a “very willing” partner.
“The Labor opposition have no understanding of how the economy works, are anti-jobs and anti-development,” he said.
“Less than a decade ago, this land was owned by the council and, for decades, remained dormant.”
He said the state government had taken over the land to “stimulate investment”.
“And stimulate investment we are doing, when it comes to the LK Group and their plans for half a billion dollars of development,” Rockliff said.
Independent MLC Tania Rattray, who is the leader of government business in the Legislative Council, said the land deal was not a “simple or ordinary” transaction.
She told the chamber it sat within a “broader sequence of events”, including the creation of the JackJumpers, the upgrade of MyState Bank Arena and the “long-standing ambition to activate a strategically important waterfront site”.
“No Crown land at Wilkinsons Point has been sold. There is no final binding land sale agreement. The parties have not settled on a final master plan,” she said.
“The Crown continues to own Wilkinsons Point, including my State Bank Arena.”
“The government’s position is that any future decision must be made in the public interest and must protect the Crown’s interest.”
Rattray pointed to the ongoing Public Accounts Committee inquiry, which is due to report later this year.
