Macquarie Point stadium: Liberals’ federal election campaign team considered ditching support to win votes in the north
The Liberals’ federal election campaign committee considered pulling support for the proposed Macquarie Point stadium in a desperate bid to win votes in the north, party sources have revealed.
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The Liberals’ federal election campaign committee considered dumping support for the proposed Macquarie Point stadium in a desperate bid to shore up votes in the state’s north, party sources have revealed.
As the bloodletting begins in the party over the disastrous election result in Tasmania, sources say some on the 10-member committee are now regretting not withdrawing support for the project.
Some in the party believe it could have saved Bridget Archer from losing her seat in Bass and helped Mal Hingston in Braddon and Susie Bower in Lyons.
“I’m told it was a very live option on the table just before we headed into the last week of the campaign,” one source told the Mercury.
“We knew we were f***ed and that we needed to do something.
“In the end we decided not to dump support for the stadium because of the acrimony it would have caused in the party and the splits and division.
“But now some people are asking why didn’t we do it?
“A lot of Tasmanians want the stadium but not so much in the North and North-West where we might have been able to hold onto those seats.
“Some voters also think we are out of touch for supporting the stadium.”
The Commonwealth government had committed to contributing $240 million towards the overall project and development of the Macquarie Point precinct, with one of the key conditions being the construction of housing.
A senior Liberal source confirmed that dumping support for the stadium was on the table for discussion by the election committee.
“In a campaign where there are concerns about the result it is surely sensible to look at every option,” he said.
“But would have changing our stance on the current stadium made a difference, we can’t be sure but it was certainly being raised on the doors and in pre-polling.”
It was discussed in the absence of the state representative on the committee who was not told about the option of dumping support from the federal representatives.
The revelations come in the wake of Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s decision last month to introduce “enabling legislation” to parliament to progress approvals for the stadium bypassing the Project of State Significance which is underway.
The move to try to give the project the green light followed two independent reports that cast doubt on the estimated costs and benefits of the project.
Economist Dr Nicholas Gruen found the stadium could cost $1.4bn and that its benefits had been “overstated”.
The Tasmanian Planning Commission’s draft integrated assessment report said the costs of the project were “approximately double its estimated benefits” and raised concerns about a lack of transport planning as part of the development.
But an independent report commissioned by the Hobart City Council found the city would reap “significant economic impacts” from the project — about $143 million a year during its construction, $44.7 million in extra incomes and 385 new jobs and a $65.4 million boost to the city’s gross regional product.
A roofed stadium is a condition of Tasmania having its own team in the AFL.
Mr Rockliff has previously said that public consultation on the legislation was expected this month and construction on the stadium, part of the Macquarie Point Urban Renewal Project, could begin by Christmas.
“We cannot afford not to deliver this project. And we cannot afford delays,” he said last month.
“This has been one of the most scrutinised projects in the state’s history.”
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