Eddie McGuire’s withering attack on Macquarie Point stadium protesters

Outspoken AFL figure Eddie McGuire has fired a blistering broadside at Tasmania’s anti-stadium movement and aimed his most withering attack at Burnie Senator Jacqui Lambie.

OUTSPOKEN AFL figure Eddie McGuire has fired a blistering broadside at Tasmania’s anti-stadium movement and aimed his most withering attack at Burnie Senator Jacqui Lambie.

McGuire took aim at those protesting against the new $715m roofed stadium, which is part of the Federal Government-backed Macquarie Point urban renewal development, on Footy Classified on Wednesday.

Two Liberals quit the party over their anti-stadium stance throwing the state government into minority, while hundreds protested against the stadium on the lawns of parliament last weekend in favour of spending the money on housing for Tasmanians needing a roof over their head.

Stop the Stadium rally on parliament lawns Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Lambie copped it from McGuire for perceived political opportunism.

“Apparently she hasn’t heard of homelessness and education issues for the last two years down in Tasmania,” he said.

Senator Jacqui Lambie spoke out at an anti Macquarie Point stadium rally in Hobart on Saturday, May 13.

“Why is it suddenly this has come up?

“You don’t reckon there’s a pot of money in other portfolios, that this is an infrastructure and AFL play that has brought $300 million to Tasmania?

“Does anybody down there actually look at the economic impact of what will happen?

“People will get jobs down there building the stadium, they’ll learn how to do things in the gig economy.

“You have a look at the impact of Victorian major events that has turned Victoria from being a rust bucket place in the ‘90s into the world’s most liveable city within 20 years.

“Have a look at what’s just happened in Western Australia, 300,000 people have tried to get tickets to Coldplay, who would’ve flown over Perth for the last 100 years, because they’ve got a stadium that you can get good crowds into, that’s got great acoustics, that has been built since Wi-Fi and 5G came in.”

McGuire also warned of the risk of no stadium to Tasmania’s long-held hope of an AFL team.

Despite a licence agreement between the AFL and state government having been signed for it to debut in 2028, a Tasmanian team comes with a “no stadium, no team” caveat.

“If you are not going to have the new stadium, if you are not going to come to the AFL level, you don’t get an AFL team,” McGuire said,

“That has been made clear.

“But I’ll tell you what no one wants, we don’t want people tying themselves to bulldozers down there for the next five years.

“It’s going to be hard enough to get players to go down there without them getting rocks thrown at them.”

McGuire also took issue with veteran Tasmanian football commentator Tim Lane’s claim on 3AW radio that the AFL had “dropped” the stadium prerequisite on Tasmania.

“I find it highly, highly insulting to the AFL what Tim said that they ‘dropped it’ and whether they care about Tasmania,” he said.

“Gil McLachlan and the AFL executives and the clubs have used every bit of political expedience they could get, everything for $300 million out of Anthony Albanese.

“They’ve worked the Tasmanian government. None of the clubs wanted this originally ... and still they’ll do it.

“It’s going to blow the competition up and everyone’s prepared to do it, but not if these people don’t want it.

“We love the Tasmanian people, but stop looking back because the AFL isn’t going back, and if it gets to this, they’ll put a line through it.”