Labor claims Tasmania can’t afford an AFL stadium amid Launceston General Hospital woes

A state where operating theatres are held together with duct tape can’t afford a stadium, the opposition says. LATEST SLEDGE >

Lights in an operating theatre at the Launceston General Hospital which have been patched with tape.

A state which has lost nearly a billion dollars in GST revenue and where operating theatre equipment is held together with tape could not afford an AFL stadium, Labor said on Thursday.

Opposition leader Rebecca White said told parliament the state’s finances were so dire that the lights in an operating at the Launceston General Hospital were falling apart.

She scoffed at suggestions it was “wear and tear”.

“Premier, the Launceston General Hospital is literally being held together with sticky tape,” she told parliament.

“How can you find the money to put lights in a new stadium in Hobart but not in the operating theatres at the Launceston General Hospital?”

Mr Rockliff said the government was spending record amounts of on health and harked back to the Labor “horror” budget of 2011.

“We are investing in new theatre equipment — $196m into our four-year plan,” he countered.

“I’m just wondering how much wear and tear was on the beds that you took out of those wards and put in storage and we had to get them out of storage again.

“Across the state, you see investment in our health system, whether that be people or infrastructure, we’ve seen new beds opening up and it’s a far cry from the days of the Labor-Green government which I will remind you of and which Tasmanians have still not forgotten.”

Labor’s treasurer spokesman Shane Broad pressed the government for more details on the stadium.

“What is the estimated total cost of the stadium, the transport, the housing and the port upgrades?

“Why are you telling Tasmanians that the upcoming budget and I quote ‘won’t be easy’ while you appear to be throwing money around like a drunken sailor on a spending spree down the Hobart waterfront?”.

Labor treasury spokesman Shane Broad speaks to the media on parliament Lawns in Hobart on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Mr Rockliff was not forthcoming.

“I take it from that question you are against transport solutions across the northern transit corridor,” he said.

”That’s what I take from your question — you’re against housing and the potential densification of housing along that corridor.”

Australian Institute of Architects president Shannon Battisson called for the Macquarie Point development should be “masterplanned with integrated transport, in line with existing guidelines”.

“An infrastructure development of the scale of the $700m Hobart stadium precinct should deliver a nett benefit for the built environment and people of the city,” she said.

“While it’s pleasing to see the Federal and Tasmanian Governments working together to attract more investment to Tasmania, they need to deliver well-planned catalytic infrastructure that will boost the city for all.

“As it stands, the stadium will lack connection to the city and public and active transport options. More planning rigour is required.

“Hasty decisions and ad hoc processes inevitably lead to suboptimal outcomes for the precinct and, more importantly, the people.”