Article-Webb’s Push for New Deal With AFL

A responsible government would negotiate a new deal with the AFL, independent MLC Meg Webb says.

Ms Webb is set to table a motion to call for the state government to renegotiate the deal, which requires the construction of a roofed stadium and potential financial penalties for the state if construction is delayed, in the upper house on Tuesday.

The Tasmanian government and the AFL maintain that without a stadium, there would be no Tasmanian team in the AFL.

Ms Webb said the debate would provide an opportunity for the government to “stand up for Tasmania’s best interest”.

“Why should 18 non-Tasmanian football bosses dictate the future of Tasmania’s team, iconic Hobart waterfront and financial security,” she questioned.

Ms Webb said a party worthy of the “opposition” label would also seek to renegotiate the deal.

She said the construction time frame had been found to be “basically impossible” and two state-funded, independent reports had raised “serious concerns” over the impacts to the state’s finances.

The motion asks the government to note the outcomes of the three independent reports and acknowledge key findings including that “the agreement between the AFL and the Tasmanian government is overspecified and imposes needless costs and restraints on the realisation of a Tasmanian team.  These costs and restraints are contributing significantly to the poor cost-benefit ratio of the proposed Macquarie Point stadium.”

The motion will call on the Tasmanian government to reopen negotiations with the AFL regarding the location and construction time frame of any associated stadium in order to secure the future of the team.

“Tasmanians deserve to be proud of their AFL team, rather than have it forever associated with an expensive white elephant scarring our iconic city waterfront, and responsible for dividing the community and draining our finances,” Ms Webb said.

The motion comes as 10 out of 11 crossbenchers called on Labor to reconsider its unconditional support for the stadium last week.