Premier Peter Gutwein says he will not attend the AFL grand final despite invite from the league
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has made a call on whether he will attend this year’s AFL grand final, after receiving an invite from the league this week.
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TASMANIAN Premier Peter Gutwein was invited to this year’s AFL grand final, but he will not attend the league’s showpiece fixture.
Mr Gutwein received an invite from the league late on Wednesday afternoon to attend the game on October 24 at the Gabba in Brisbane.
But a state government spokeswoman said the Premier has declined the invitation and would instead stay in Tasmania and “focus on the business of government”.
An AFL spokesman confirmed the league invited all premiers to the grand final each year and had done so again in 2020.
A deadly second wave of coronavirus in Victoria prevented the match being held at the MCG, meaning it is the first time ever the occasion will be staged outside of Melbourne.
Capacity for the Gabba fixture is 30,000 — about 75 per cent of the venue’s capacity — which is less than a third of the usual crowd of about 100,000 that usually crams into the MCG each year.
Tasmania’s current border restrictions rule that anyone travelling from interstate has to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival into the state, either at a government-run hotel or at their own residence.
Mr Gutwein is expected to provide an update on the state’s border restrictions on Friday, after recently hinting that Tasmania could open up earlier than the planned date of December 1.
State government representatives traditionally receive invites to the biggest event on the AFL calendar.
Last year, then-Premier Will Hodgman attended the grand final between Richmond and Greater Western Sydney, the Tigers’ second premiership in three years.
Mr Hodgman quit politics in January this year.
Government Minister Guy Barnett, a Richmond fan, also attended the event.
Originally published as Premier Peter Gutwein says he will not attend the AFL grand final despite invite from the league