MLC Meg Webb motion to urge state government to renegotiate stadium deal

Independent MLC Meg Webb is demanding that the state government ‘stands up for Tasmania’s best interest’ to renegotiate the stadium deal. Here’s how.

Hobart's proposed AFL stadium at Macquarie Point. Picture: Macquarie Point Development Corporation

A responsible government would negotiate a new deal with the AFL, independent MLC Meg Webb says.

Ms Webb is set to table a motion to call for the state government to renegotiate the deal, which requires the construction of a roofed stadium and potential financial penalties for the state if construction is delayed, in the upper house on Tuesday.

The Tasmanian Government and the AFL maintain that without a stadium, there would be no Tasmanian team in the AFL.

“Ms Webb cannot pretend to support our team and not the Macquarie Point Stadium,” Business, industry and resources Minister Eric Abetz said.

Ms Webb said Tuesday’s debate would provide an opportunity for the government to “stand up for Tasmania’s best interest”.

MLC Meg Webb speaks to the media on parliament Lawns in Hobart on Wednesday, November 13, 2024.

“Why should 18 non-Tasmanian football bosses dictate the future of Tasmania’s team, iconic Hobart waterfront and financial security,” she questioned.

Ms Webb said a party worthy of the “opposition” label would also seek to immediately seek to renegotiate the deal.

She said the construction time frame had been found to be “basically impossible” and two state-funded, independent reports had raised “serious concerns” over the impacts to the state’s finances.

The motion asks the government to note the outcomes of the three independent reports and acknowledge key findings including that “the agreement between the AFL and the Tasmanian government is overspecified and imposes needless costs and restraints on the realisation of a Tasmanian team. These costs and restraints are contributing significantly to the poor cost-benefit ratio of the proposed Macquarie Point stadium.”

Macquarie Point multipurpose stadium south west gate. Picture: Mac Point Development Corporation

The motion will call on the Tasmanian government to reopen negotiations with the AFL regarding the location and construction time frame of any associated stadium in order to secure the ongoing future of the team.

“Tasmanians deserve to be proud of their AFL team, rather than have it forever associated with an expensive white elephant scarring our iconic city waterfront, and responsible for dividing the community and draining our finances,” Ms Webb said.

On April 2 Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he had sought advice on how to bypass the Project of State Significance process, which was created to bypass regular planning rules, in order to progress the stadium.

Mr Abetz said the stadium has “been one of the most scrutinised projects in the state’s history”.

He said the findings from the independent Tasmanian planning commission’s report would still inform work on the stadium, but there were numerous aspects in the report that were “flawed”.

The motion is set to be debated during the Legislative Council Private Members business on Tuesday, April 8.

It comes as 10 out of 11 state crossbenchers called on the Labor opposition to reconsider its unconditional support for the stadium last week.

Originally published as MLC Meg Webb motion to urge state government to renegotiate stadium deal