Stadiums backdown: Premier fails on two counts

Gladys Berejiklian had two political tasks today when she finally decided to back down on her stadiums decision.

The first was to reduce the $2.5 billion spending on stadiums to such a level that the issue would become null and void for NSW voters — probably around the $1.6 billion that Mike Baird originally promised for three stadiums. The other was to communicate the issue so punters understood.

The Premier failed on both counts and, sadly, this issue is going nowhere, as the Labor Opposition is still able to argue the money would be better spent on schools and hospitals.

One thing the Premier could have done was reduce the proposed 45,000-seat Allianz Stadium in Moore Park to 30,000 capacity — the same as the Parramatta facility.

Together with turning the ANZ Stadium rebuild into a renovation, this would have brought the bill right down.

But the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and Stuart Ayres have made a point of pushing hard for the 45,000-seat facility, to attempt to take events off ANZ Stadium and Sydney Olympic Park.

Part of the Allianz business case released yesterday actually suggests: “Possible course of action for the government might be to proceed on the basis of 40,000 seats as a minimum capacity and 45,000 seats as a target capacity, with the final stadium capacity to be determined once more detailed design work had been completed and before any tender documents were released to the market.”

This suggests an original plan by Ayres and the Trust to have a 55,000-seat facility could still come to fruition.

Opposition Leader Luke Foley was brutal. “This is rotten to the core; she’s building an entirely new stadium at Moore Park just to get Alan Jones (an SCG Trust member) editorialising for her every morning,” he claimed in a media conference.

Asked about Mr Foley’s comment, Mr Jones said: “Luke is a very silly man to be talking like that.”

The fact Ms Berejiklian would not reveal how many times she had spoken to Mr Jones on the issue yesterday did not help her cause. Also on the Trust is Ms Berejiklian’s mentor, former premier Barry O’Farrell, who was seen in Mr Ayres’ office in parliament a fortnight ago.

The Premier kept saying she had “listened to the community” and done her “homework”.

She seemed to have nothing else to say — unable to articulate in proper everyday language how she had listened and had responded to public outcry on the spend. Pride made sure that when asked if she would say sorry over the stadiums affair, she declined to do so.

At one point, ironically, she chastised Mr Ayres to use “everyday language”.

And Mr Ayres and Ms Berejiklian differed over whether she was going to abolish the SCG Trust; the Premier said it was possible, Mr Ayres said no.

It’s the fourth major backflip by Ms Berejiklian in her 13 months in the job.

Last November, she told a business audience: “When we make a decision, we make that decision clearly known and we stick to it.”

In fact, in her 12 months in the job, it has been exactly the opposite.

Two years ago on the Thursday before Easter, Mike Baird announced his stadiums position. It has taken that long for the debate to roll on without a sod turned.