Hawks and Roos pressure not changing Premier’s stance on AFL games in Tasmania

Premier Peter Gutwein is not backing down from his strict stance on AFL games in the state, despite the Hawks and Roos putting the pressure on for their contractual payments.

HAWTHORN and North Melbourne are both laying heavy hits, but Tasmania’s Premier Peter Gutwein is not backing down from his hard line stance on AFL games in the state this season.

The Hawks and the Roos have both expressed their desire to fulfil their contracts — worth a combined $8 million to the clubs — of playing eight home matches in Tasmania this year, even with a truncated season.

But any visitors to Tasmania must remain isolated in a hotel for 14 days — and Mr Gutwein said he would not relax this policy just so AFL teams can play games in the state in front of empty stadiums.

Premier Peter Gutwein. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

It is a view shared by both South Australia and Western Australia, despite considerable pressure from AFL headquarters.

“Under our current border restrictions, it is highly unlikely that Tasmania will be able to facilitate AFL matches,” Mr Gutwein said.

“When we have clarity from the AFL on what the 2020 season will look like, there will be further discussions with both clubs regarding contractual arrangements, taking into account whether our border restrictions are still in place later this year.”

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There have been proposals outside of government that the money saved from not hosting AFL games should be reinvested into community sport.

But Mr Gutwein said financial support had already been made to the Tasmanian sport and recreation sector.

“We recently announced a $2 million support package to assist sporting clubs to keep Tasmanians employed and to ensure our grassroots sports can survive and resume once is safe to do so,” he said.

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AFL match between North Melbourne and Sydney at Blundstone Arena in Hobart. Picture: AAP IMAGE/ROB BLAKERS

Mr Gutwein also announced an in-principle agreement for a Tasmanian NBL team in February that included a $40 million DEC redevelopment, a new $20 million indoor multisport facility and an annual $2 million sponsorship.

However, this was put on hold after the COVID-19 crisis hit. He said discussions were due to resume “shortly”.