By Sam McClure and Alexander Darling
The AFL Commission will meet next week to consider the repercussions for the Tasmania Devils of Thursday’s no-confidence vote against Premier Jeremy Rockliff, which set the island state on course for a snap election and left the league’s 19th team in peril.
On another day of upheaval in Tasmanian parliament, the vote was tied and the Labor speaker used her casting vote to pass the no-confidence motion. This cast fresh doubt on the state’s commitment to the proposed Macquarie Point stadium, which the AFL insists must go ahead for the Devils to enter the league in 2028.
The prospect of a Tasmanian election has cast fresh doubt on the Devils.Credit: Stephen Kiprillis
Devils chief executive Brendon Gale admitted last month his staff would be “out of a job”, if the stadium plans did not pass through Tasmanian parliament.
The future of the Devils is expected to be thrust onto the agenda of Tuesday’s planned commission meeting before the Australian Football Hall of Fame dinner.
Earlier this year, the 18 AFL clubs successfully negotiated with AFL boss Andrew Dillon the right to a second vote on the Devils’ licence, if any aspects of the Macquarie Point Stadium changed.
Rockliff is set to call his second election in 16 months, which Tasmanian officials fear will at the very least delay construction.
In an interview with this masthead in April, Rockliff said he hoped legislation for the stadium would pass through both houses of parliament by July and construction would begin before Christmas.
That now appears unlikely.
The AFL would not comment on Thursday evening, but senior figures privately conceded another state election would be a bad result for the future of the 19th team.
Before the vote, Gale said he was unsure whether the AFL would proceed with the deal to grant the team a licence if Tasmania went to a state election.
“It’s above my pay grade,” he said on Nine Radio.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff outside state parliament on Thursday morning.Credit: AAP
“Our responsibility is to build a club, and our club’s existence is contingent upon the stadium. There are some obligations around time, and delivery of infrastructure, and those timelines would be put at risk. So if they were to go to an election, there would be some nervousness at the AFL.
“There is existing infrastructure [stadiums in Launceston and Hobart], and it’s sound, but it’s not good enough to meet the commercial requirements of an AFL team on an ongoing basis,” Gale added.
“But there is tolerance, I guess, within those agreements for the Devils to play at those stadiums, providing there is commitment to the Macquarie Point stadium.”
The no-confidence vote, taken at 3.42pm, resulted in a 17-17 tie, leaving speaker Michelle O’Byrne – a member of the Labor Party, who has held the speaker’s position since May last year – to cast the deciding vote in favour of the motion.
O’Byrne, in explaining her decision, referenced her loyalty to the party, the instability in the state and the future of the Tasmania Football Club.
“I am also very mindful the future of the AFL team,” she said. “I support the team ... To say the path to the team has been poorly handled is an understatement.”
An emotional Rockliff spoke of his belief in the value of the AFL team and the Macquarie Point stadium to Tasmania, and restated his earlier position that he would seek an early election.
“This is about the future of our state and the crossroads of our state… if we cannot invest in a team, in the infrastructure required in an industrial wasteland, next to a sewage works, then what the hell are we doing?”
Labor leader Dean Winter took to social media platform X after the vote, stating he “will not do a deal with or form government with the Greens”.
It was Winter who moved the no-confidence motion on Tuesday, with debate continuing into Thursday, as all 35 MPs spoke given the gravity of the motion.
Earlier on Thursday, Winter said: “We are ready for an election.”
Tasmania went to the polls in March 2024, when the Liberals won just 14 of 35 seats but earned enough support from the crossbench to form government.
Collingwood premiership star Jeremy Howe, who grew up in Hobart and is in his 15th AFL season, warned of the emotional fallout in Tasmania if the Devils fall by the wayside.
The future of the Tasmania Devils hangs in the balance.Credit: AFL Photos
“It will rip the heart out of the state if it doesn’t go forward,” Howe told Triple M.
“The carrot has been there dangling for decades and then all of a sudden it’s within reaching distance and everyone’s become attached to it.
“Everyone’s talking about it, there’s a genuine excitement about it. If it doesn’t get done, I fear for what the state might look like.”
The estimated cost for a new stadium recently increased from $755 million to $945 million. The government has previously pledged to cap its contribution to the stadium at $375 million.
The federal government has pledged $240 million, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterated his backing for the project on Thursday.
“The Macquarie Point site is one of the great sites around Australia that can unite the Hobart CBD right down to the waterfront. This is a project that’s about not just a sporting precinct, but business, residential, hospitality. It is a great site, and we have provided some support for that,” Albanese said.
Rockliff has been under increasing political pressure over worsening budget debt, Bass Strait ferry delays, a plan to sell assets and the new stadium.
With Cassandra Morgan, and AAP
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