Live: Hobart’s stadium debate continues, with project unofficially approved

Harry has written into us to ask the following question:

“What were the main reasons given by the independents for supporting the stadium, and what has the government promised in exchange for their support?”

Great question. Yesterday we heard that independents Tania Rattray, Bec Thomas, Casey Hiscutt and Dean Harriss would all be voting YES for the stadium — here’s what they said.

Ms Rattray was passionate in her support of the project and said it was about “creating a legacy that future generations will thank us for”.

Ms Thomas said she made her decision after receiving confirmation the Tasmanian government would agree to a list of “safeguards”.

These included a $875 million cap on state government funding — the state’s current publicly-stated commitment — and that any blowouts would see the government seek more funds from the Commonwealth, AFL or private sector.

Mr Hiscutt said he also extracted a guarantee that any extra public funding from the stadium would have to be endorsed by both houses of parliament.

He also spoke relatively glowingly about how the stadium would put Tasmania on the “forefront of Australia” and show it is a “state that says yes”.

Mr Harriss said he had received a letter from Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Treasurer Eric Abetz, which confirmed borrowings by Tasmanian government businesses would be reduced by $500 million over the coming three years, to accommodate the debt needed for the stadium.

In the same letter, the government also agreed to find “additional revenues” ahead of the May budget, which Mr Harriss interpreted as meaning “state taxes and charges will increase”.

He said these commitments eased some of his concerns about the stadium’s financials and used them as a basis for his support.

It is a while off yet before the Tasmania Devils run on to the field (see below blog post), but now the stadium is a done deal, someone needs to get started on a club song.

I am thinking something rousing and inspirational, like the Richmond club song, which is clearly the best *

Anything resembling the Freo anthem must be avoided.

Do you have thoughts on a club theme song for the Devils?

Maybe the Foo Fighters could smash something out during soundcheck in Launceston….

Let us know in the comments!

* Yes, I barrack for Richmond. Go Tiges.

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Reader Sam asks:

But realistically the stadium is not going to be done until after the Devils enter the competition. Where are they meant to play until then?

The Devils remain on track to enter the AFL and AFLW competitions in 2028.

Under the deal between the AFL and Tasmanian government, they will split games in their first season between Bellerive Oval in Hobart and Launceston’s York Park while the Macquarie Point stadium is being built.

The stadium is supposed to be built in time for Round 1 of the 2029 AFL season, but there’s a chance that is pushed back by at least 12 months.

It’s a conversation the government, Devils and AFL will almost certainly be having now that the build will be approved.

Today’s events in the Legislative Council are set to be much more detail-oriented and procedural, especially compared to the passionate speeches we saw yesterday.

As we’ve mentioned, the council members are running through the specific order that the construction of the stadium hinges on section by section.

“This is not an opportunity to revisit broader arguments already made in the substantive debate on this order, or to introduce issues unrelated to the clause or item under consideration,” independent Ruth Forrest said.

This has been running for about 30 minutes at this stage.

Cassy O’Connor, Meg Webb and Bec Thomas have all asked questions.

These have generally focused on which regulators or planning authorities will be liable if there are any breaches during the construction phase, and which are responsible for enforcement.

Mick:

Sad news for the future of our great state. We all will suffer reduced services, poor police, roads, education and health care.

Glen:

Interesting that AFL is now dictating/controlling Tasmanias financial future. Are they going to subsidise health costs from revenue from their new colosseum?

Peter: 

Gonna take a while to get over the divisions that this will cause in Tassie. So Rocky & Erica have confirmed the need to find “additional revenues” to accommodate the reduction in borrowings. Hope all Tasmanians realise what their elected representatives have let them for – am waiting for the bleating when regos & licensing fees start to increase along with power & water and “Spirit” fares.

One of the most strident opponents to the stadium project has been Greens MLC, Cassy O’Connor, who said on Tuesday that the fight is not over.

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On Tuesday, she said “I know there will be heartbreak across the island if this order passes and genuine fear for the feature when the weight of debt and underinvestment in our people becomes increasingly and painfully clear.

“I say to those people do not lose heart.

She likened the stadium’s expected approval with the story of the Bell Bay Pulp Mill in the Tamar Valley, a controversial project which got the green tick from Parliament but never went ahead.

“It was also vehemently opposed by a significant majority either on environmental or probity grounds,” she said.

“It has never been built and the Tamar Valley today remains a place where the air is clean, the vistas are many and glorious and the winemakers grape still produce the finest cool climate wines in the country.

“The struggle for our city, our people and our future — it continues and Mr President, I’ll drink to that.

“I condemn the order that is before the council.”

Now that we know that stadium is going to be going ahead, let’s have a look at what it will actually look like — if it’s built according to the current designs.

Safe to say it will be big and change the Hobart skyline in ways that thrill some, and horrify others.

In the following article, we took some officially released images of what the Macquarie Point stadium is proposed to look like once built and merged them with images at the same location.

It gives a good indication of what impact it will have on the Hobart skyline…

In the opening proceedings today, it’s been revealed that Liberal MLC Kerry Vincent has been granted a leave of absence and potentially won’t be taking part in the vote today.

Our understanding is that it’s due to him being unwell.

Mr Vincent was one of the YES votes for the stadium, but his potential absence isn’t expected to impact the outcome of the vote.

In the wash up of yesterday’s stadium debate, some critics of the project have come out to signal a ‘YES’ vote will not end their opposition.

“While the stadium may pass the parliament, the fight against it is only gearing up. Groups are already forming to fight this proposal in new ways. People are angry,” Roland Browne from the Our Place opponents group said on Tuesday, before the votes fell in favour of the project going ahead.

“Parliament can permit the stadium to be built, but it cannot legislate reality to be different. And at some point reality will doom this unaffordable stadium.

“The Gunns’ pulp mill was approved by parliament in 2007. It was never built. And Gunns does not exist any longer, either.”

We’re back under way in the upper house for today’s proceedings, which will all be building up to the official vote this afternoon.

Tania Rattray, an independent who is the Leader for the Government in the Legislative Council, has thanked her fellow council members for the “marathon effort” that occurred yesterday.

She’s currently running through some comments which were mentioned in the various speeches and clarifying the government’s position on various issues.

One of the most notable moments of the debate as it stretched on overnight was the final speech — which came from Meg Webb.

Long after the outcome was essentially confirmed and perhaps even some of the most passionate spectators had drifted off, the independent delivered a three-and-a-half-hour effort.

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During the speech, which finally concluded at 2:30am, Ms Webb laid into the proposed project and the impacts it will have on Tasmania’s precarious financial position.

“A yes vote is an end to precious things about our capital city which once gone can never be recovered,” Ms Webb said.

“This decision today will tell us a lot about who we are — are we willing here to approve and reward this disparagement and dismissal of independent experts who have provided evidence based on factual information and recommendations?

“Are we willing here to approve this precedent setting abandonment of goof governance, accountability and integrity in decision-making?

“I hope instead for our own sense of self-worth an integrity that we are willing to stand up for our state for the fabric of our democracy.”

If you can’t tell from that, Ms Webb is not a fan of the proposed stadium and confirmed she would be voting NO.

Upper House MPs will go through the stadium order section by section. They’re able to make speeches, and ask questions of government officials.

We’re expecting that will take a while, but hopefully not go for as long as yesterday.

My personal prediction is that a vote will be held either late this afternoon or tonight.

At that point, it becomes official, bar the paperwork.

We wrapped up our live coverage of the debate in the upper house at about 5:30pm yesterday, but the speeches continued long into the night.

Those speakers were pretty much all politicians who had already publicly stated how they would vote, but let’s run through them just for good measure.

Following the closure of our live blog, Labor MLC Luke Edmunds reiterated that he would be voting YES, as did Liberal MLC Kerry Vincent.

Liberal MLC Jo Palmer followed this up with confirmation of her own planned YES vote, before Labor MLC Sarah Lovell did the same.

The wave of support continued with Liberal MLC Nick Duigan, but was finally brought to end when independent MLC Rosemary Armitage gave her speech and confirmed she would be voting NO.

Independent MLC Mike Gaffney’s speech ran from about 9pm to 11pm, during which he confirmed he would also be voting NO.

This was followed by a more than three-hour speech from independent Meg Webb, centred around her intentions to vote NO — which concluded at about 2:30am.

That what the final speech of the proceedings, with each member of the upper house having now spoken to the order and indicated how they plan to cast their official vote.

For those following along at home, there will be nine YES votes and five NO votes — meaning the stadium is a shoe-in.

That is the billion-dollar question.

My ABC colleague Adam Holmes looked at what was said in parliament yesterday, which revealed some details about the plan to find the money for this massive project.

Borrowings by Tasmanian government businesses will be reduced by $500 million over the coming three years to accommodate the debt needed for the Macquarie Point stadium in Hobart.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Treasurer Eric Abetz confirmed the reduction in a letter to independent Dean Harriss, along with an agreement to find “additional revenues” ahead of the May budget.

Mr Harriss interpreted this as meaning that “state taxes and charges will increase”, and used the commitment as a basis for his support for the stadium.

Read more about how the need to pay for the stadium could impact services across the state, in this article:

The comments are already coming in, here are a few:

BRUCE

Any approval of this bottomless pit cannot be known until (a) tenders are called and received, and (b) the total costs of the project, never admitted by the proponents, is finally known. The whole approval process has been skewed it its favour, and our vacuous upper House MPs seem unable to either recognise that, or reverse it. It will be scant satisfaction to opponents when the true costs emerge, with which ALL Tasmanians will have to manage.

Bill

ABC News today, “Borrowings by Tasmanian government businesses will be reduced by $500 million over the coming three years to accommodate the debt needed for the Macquarie Point stadium in Hobart.” That did not take long, what about the significant debt we already have??

The Tasmanian government needed eight out of 15 votes for the $1.13 billion stadium to pass the upper house.

The project had already been approved by the lower house, with the Tasmanian Liberals and Labor Opposition being in favour and voting for it.

While the official vote tally is yet to be taken, the members of the upper house, officially known as the Legislative Council, have spoken well into last night, signalling how they will vote.

For the project:

• Luke Edmunds
• Sarah Lovell
• Kerry Vincent
• Jo Palmer
• Nick Duigan
• Dean Harriss
• Casey Hiscutt
• Bec Thomas
• Tania Rattray

Against the project:

• Ruth Forrest
• Meg Webb
• Mike Gaffney
• Cassy O’Connor
• Rosemary Armitage