Peter Gutwein: United team can pay off for all Tasmanians

PETER GUTWEIN: Our goal is a Tassie team and stronger grassroots footy

TEAMWORK: Premier Peter Gutwein with Errol Stewart at UTAS Stadium in Launceston on Friday. Picture: PATRICK GEE

YESTERDAY we released the AFL Taskforce report which shows a Tasmanian AFL and AFLW team in five years would be financially viable and sustainable.

The report debunks many myths about why we should not have a team, with the business case demonstrating a Tassie team stacks up financially and strengthens the AFL by making it a truly national competition.

Tasmania has experienced substantial benefits of hosting AFL games at our Blundstone and UTAS stadiums, and current arrangements with Hawthorn and North Melbourne have proven successful for all parties. However, we remain focused on establishing our own team representing the state at the highest level and we continue to work closely with stakeholders to deliver this goal.

With Tasmania’s economy going gangbusters, topping almost all key economic indicators in the nation, the economic benefits that would flow from having our own team would help us maintain this momentum.

In fact independent modelling done for the Taskforce based on 11 AFL home games, indicates a Tasmanian team would deliver a direct benefit to our economy of $110 million a year and more than 360 more jobs.

We know Tasmania is a traditional AFL state, with a rich history of producing some of this country’s best footballers and, through the overwhelming response to the “United We Stand” campaign, we know Tasmanians are willing to back our own team.

At the outset we were very clear when briefing the Taskforce that a Tasmanian team must unite the state, delivering benefits statewide while representing all Tasmanians. We are extremely pleased to see the Taskforce has recommended a model that could do this, with games to be shared in the North and South. We will now consult with the football and broader community and the AFL on the report before finalising our position on the recommendations, while we continue to focus on grassroots football.

This has been strengthened by the establishment of the Tasmanian Football Board, which represents all associations and community football. The board’s focus is on growing participation and strengthening the base.

Encouraging more young Tasmanians to take up the game is crucial in ensuring our state continues to produce some of the country’s best footballers. More importantly, participating in sport from a young age leads to a healthier lifestyle.

As the Taskforce report shows, having an AFL club can greatly increase participation levels, with the establishment of the Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney Giants leading to a spike in participation. Tasmania once led the nation in participation per capita, however, engagement has declined over the past 10 years. While we are working with AFL Tasmania to increase these levels, achieving an AFL/AFLW licence as recommended by the Taskforce could have a similar impact to that experienced on the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney.

It’s important we are able provide the pathways for our next generation of footballers, now one step closer to one day potentially being able to have the opportunity to play AFL/AFLW at the highest level in their own state’s colours.

Bass Liberal MHA Peter Gutwein is the Tasmanian Premier.