Fears raised for state debt after Rockliff abandons private funding model for Macquarie Point stadium

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has been accused of walking away from a key election promise that taxpayers would not contribute “a red cent more” than the $375m towards the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium.

Macquarie Point Multipurpose stadium south east gate. Picture: Mac Point Development Corporation

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has been accused of walking away from a key election promise that taxpayers would not contribute “a red cent more” than the $375m towards the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium.

The government had pitched the stadium build as being funded by a combination of state, federal and private funds.

But private investment has been abandoned and the government says the state-owned Macquarie Point Development Corporation will borrow cash and sell land to make up the shortfall, which is expected to be hundreds of millions of dollars.

Minister for Business, Industry and Resources Eric Abetz on Monday said that following a market-sounding exercise for private financing of the development, the government decided to adopt a faster and cheaper “design and construct” approach.

“While there was strong interest in a public-private partnership model to deliver the stadium and broader precinct, it would cost the taxpayer more, take longer to implement and take away from the asset being owned by and for the Tasmanian people,” he said.

Mr Abetz has previously said the government had strong interest in investment in the project from private consortiums, tier-one construction firms and major equity investors.

Instead, it appears that the stadium will be funded with $375m from the state government, with $240m from the federal government, plus the proceeds of land sale at the site, with the shortfall being borrowed and repaid by the Macquarie Point Development Corporation.

Mr Abetz explained that the money borrowed by the government-owned MPDC was not the same as money borrowed by the government itself, particularly when it came to being accounted for in the state budget.

Labor shadow treasurer Josh Willie speaks to the media outside state treasury in Hobart on Monday, May 5, 2025

Labor’s Josh Willie accused the Premier of lying.

“Today’s admission from the minority Rockliff government that it plans to fund the shortfall for building a stadium with funding through the Macquarie Point Development Corporation is also an admission that Premier Jeremy Rockliff lied to Tasmanians,” Mr Willie said.

“The Premier promised Tasmanian government capital expenditure on the Macquarie Point stadium would be capped at $375 million and ‘not one red cent more’, and repeated the commitment more than 100 times.”

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff speaks to the media on parliament Lawns in Hobart on Monday May 5, 2025.

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said the announcement was a stunning about-face.

“Jeremy Rockliff’s key election promise on the first day of the election was that the Liberals would cap spending on the stadium to ‘not a red cent, more than $375m’ we’ve heard him say it dozens of times since then,” she said.

“It’s fair to say that what we’ve heard today is an utter broken promise and Jeremy Rockliff probably wouldn’t be here as Premier if he’d been honest with Tasmanians in the election campaign.”

Independent federal member for Clark Andrew Wilkie was also scathing.

“Don’t believe this nonsense that the state government will say about the Macquarie Point [Development] Authority is actually going to borrow the money, not the state government.

“It’s all the same thing, ultimately it will be debt lumbered on to the long-suffering Tasmanian community.

“So not only did the Premier just sprout absolute nonsense when he said not one red cent more but now we’re going to have who knows how many hundreds of millions of dollars of additional debt on this stadium.”

Andrew Wilkie speaks to the media on Monday.

Minister Abetz said while there had been strong interest in a public-private partnership to deliver the stadium, the funding model would ultimately cost Tasmania taxpayers more, and take longer to implement.

“The decision to prioritise the delivery of the multipurpose stadium through a ‘design and construct’ pathway provides certainty and confidence in the future of the Precinct and the Tasmania Devils AFL Club,” he said.

“We cannot afford any delays if we are to meet existing time frames set out in the AFL agreement. Without a stadium, there is no Tasmanian AFL Team,” Minister Abetz said.

“The transformation of Macquarie Point will shape Tasmania for generations and I know many will be excited by the prospect of being involved.”

The government said a procurement process for the stadium would commence following the passing of planned enabling legislation through both houses of the Tasmanian parliament.