Deputy premier Michael Ferguson not saying whether he saw AFL deal details before it was signed

Treasurer Michael Ferguson won’t say whether he saw the agreement Premier Jeremy Rockliff signed with the AFL to secure a Tasmanian team before pen was put to paper. LATEST >>

Treasurer Michael Ferguson won’t say whether he saw the agreement Premier Jeremy Rockliff signed with the AFL to secure a Tasmanian team before pen was put to paper, stating he “won’t be discussing Cabinet matters”.

Mr Ferguson, who is also the Deputy Premier, said the government had “worked through this in a proper and prudent fashion”.

“I will say we don’t discuss Cabinet matters but I’m very happy and satisfied with the engagement that each Cabinet minister, including myself as Treasurer, have had on this matter,” he said.

On Sunday, Mr Rockliff publicly released the deal he signed with AFL boss, Gillon McLachlan, which showed that Tasmania would be saddled with any cost overruns associated with the team and not the league.

According to the agreement, the deal will be revisited after 12 years, with the threat of hefty financial penalties if the government does not meet strict conditions around the construction of the $715m stadium slated for Macquarie Point.

Treasurer Michael Ferguson ahead of the state budget. Picture: Chris Kidd

If at least 50 per cent of the stadium is not complete by October 31, 2027, Tasmania could have to fork out $4.5m to the club unless the AFL waives the requirement.

From 2029, for every year the stadium is not ready to host AFL games, the state would need to pay an additional $4.5m each year.

Labor leader Rebecca White said Mr Rockliff had “not been transparent with his own government members” regarding the deal.

“That is why two members quit and have plunged his government into minority,” she said.

“And the fact that no-one is coming clean on whether the Treasurer saw the details of this deal before Jeremy Rockliff signed it, I think, tells you everything.

“It tells you that they didn’t see it. It tells you that this is a Premier who has acted single-handedly to sign Tasmanian taxpayers up to a very bad deal and he hasn’t even run it by the Deputy Premier.”

Mr Rockliff has signed a memorandum of understanding with two MPs who recently quit his government, John Tucker and Lara Alexander, formalising their guarantee of confidence and supply.

The pair cited concerns over a lack of transparency around the stadium project when announcing their defection to the crossbench as independents.

Part of the agreement with Mr Tucker and Mrs Alexander is a commitment that the Premier will seek to declare the stadium a Project of State Significance, which would require it to be put to a vote in both houses of state parliament.

Ms White said Labor had not yet made a decision on how it would vote on the matter, saying the Opposition first needed to “see the detail” of what the government planned to bring before the parliament.