Two and a half years ago, Premier Rockliff signed the agreement with the AFL to deliver AFL/W teams in Tasmania at the cost of a stadium at Hobart’s historic Macquarie Point. He has misled us about the cost of the project and about the height of the stadium. He has referred it to the Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC) for assessment and then demeaned the assessment process and the members of the TPC conducting the assessment. He introduced legislation into the parliament to override the TPC assessment, and then abandoned that legislation. Now, having rejected the TPC’s strong recommendation that the government not proceed with the stadium, Premier Rockliff is putting up a permit for approval by the parliament, containing a set of permit conditions that were roundly rejected and criticised by the TPC.
It is difficult to conjure up a more extreme case of bad policy and poor public sector management. But this is where Tasmania finds itself. On 4 November 2025 the permit and conditions were tabled in the parliament. The permit and conditions passed through the lower house on 13 November 2025, despite the protestations of the majority of the cross-bench, because the ALP “opposition” supports the construction of a stadium at Macquarie Point.
It is far from inevitable that the permit and conditions are going to get through the upper house. Labor and Liberal combined in the upper house only have some 6 votes. The stadium needs at least 2 independent votes for the order to be approved. And the order and conditions cannot be amended. They are either approved or not approved.
The Tasmanian budget is going to be dealt with in the last part of November. The budget, and the state, are in dire straits. In two years the deficit is expected to be $13 billion. The upper house members will inevitably be extremely concerned at the consequence of approving a $2 billion++ project in the current budget circumstances.
Ultimately, the government and ALP are trying to bluff the upper house by saying to them if they don’t approve the stadium permit, there will be no AFL/W teams.
We need to get two critical messages across to the upper house independents.
First, the independents are not to be bullied or bluffed by the government and the ALP. The reality is that if the upper house does not approve the stadium, the government and the AFL will find a way to deliver the teams. They will have to do that, despite their protestations.
The second message for the upper house independents must be that the community does not want to suffer the austerity measures that come with a budget crisis: the cuts in public sector jobs and in housing and in health and in education (already showing their ugly heads in Minister Abetz’ November interim budget).
We are approaching a critical moment in this slow motion train crash that is the stadium debate.
Communicating your views to the independent members of the upper house is more critical than it ever was.
Tasmania’s future must be shaped by the community, not by the AFL!