Stadiums
Mr Speaker, I support this urgency motion. Following the performance in question time this morning, when the Government was repeatedly asked questions about this project that they seem so committed to, and were unable to make direct and simple responses to these questions.
Tasmanians need to know why it is that this Government is so obsessed with a $750 million stadium - or perhaps a $750 million stadium –
Ms O'Connor - Double that.
Ms FINLAY - when the stadiums I have seen developed across the country - I cannot imagine this Tasmanian Government believes it will get away with building a stadium for $750 million. Let us say it is that much. Let us say they have done their homework. It is curious that when the first stadium was proposed - when that announcement came out of nowhere and the scratchings on the back of the envelope said it was $750 million - they now announce another stadium around the corner and down the road in completely different circumstances, but curiously it is also going to be $750 million. This Government has to demonstrate and defend their position on this to the Tasmanian people - today.
This is urgent because we have Tasmanians who are living in tents, living in cars, sleeping on their friends' couches, sleeping in cars in driveways of former partners where there have been terrible situations occur, so desperate to not be on the street. We have people struggling in pain every day not able to live a good life because they are waiting to be served by our health service. We have children in our education system who are struggling to meet the standards required and expected of them because of the failing education system.
So many people struggling in our community cannot believe this Government would continue to be obsessed with the idea of building another stadium - a third stadium in Tasmania, a second one in Hobart - at a time when there are so many other priorities Tasmanians expect this Government to be focused on. It is clear that this Government has lost the plot. They have their priorities all wrong, but they do not understand. They are not hearing the concerns of the Tasmanian people.
They are not hearing the message from Tasmanians about what they expect this Government to be focused on right now. They do not expect this Government to be focused on building another stadium in Tasmania when we have the perfectly good York Park in Launceston, and Bellerive here in the South, where Tasmanians know they can enjoy top-level AFL content right now, here and there. The task force said maybe in the future, but now is not the right time.
This Government has their priorities all wrong. It is urgent that the Premier, the Treasurer and other Ministers of the front bench stand today and defend the Government position because Tasmanians do not understand. They do not understand when they are struggling, when their health and the system meant to support them is in crisis. They do not understand when the housing system that is meant to be able to support people struggling to find a roof over their heads, with people who have been waiting not one, two, four, many years for a place to live, they do not understand the priorities of the Government. They do not understand how they could be so wrong.
As other members from our side have said, we cannot understand how this Government continues to defend its position when it does not even understand what it is really going to cost. What are the real capital costs, not just on the build but all the associated infrastructure? What are the operational costs? What are the maintenance costs? What is the depreciation? What is it going to cost for interest on the borrowings they are going to take if they do not even know what the format is going to be?
It is completely irresponsible for the Government to enter into commitments. It was said by a member of this Chamber this morning, quoting the Premier when he said, 'there will be a stadium at Macquarie Point'. How do you get off being so determined and clear without consideration of Tasmanian people who are struggling that you will continue to hold this position yet disrespectfully not answer the questions asked directly and simply of you in parliament this morning? You did not even respond to questions about the stadium with references to a stadium and you do not stand up now to defend your position.
This is an urgent matter. Tasmanians need to know where their Government is at. They need to know they have a government that cares enough about them to do the work before they make the commitments, that they understand the true costs they are committing Tasmanians to, the true debt levels they are committing Tasmanians to, the true operational, maintenance and all sorts of other burdens and responsibilities they are committing Tasmanians to when Tasmanians are struggling.
The Government, to this day, stands up and talks about the support they are providing for Tasmanians in a cost-of-living crisis. It is clear they have not read the 3P Advisory report that demonstrates that three-quarters of Tasmanians are moderately to extremely concerned about the cost-of-living pressures in this community, and half are concerned that it is going to get worse year on year. There are new demographics of people in our community who are struggling.
There are more and more Tasmanians struggling every day. Tasmanians between 35 and 54 years old, Tasmanians earning $50 000 to $100 000 a year are struggling under the pressures of cost of living, who cannot access great health care and housing when they need it, or be confident that their children are getting the best level of education because our results are the worst in the country across so many areas.
Premier, I call on you, the Treasurer and ministers on the front bench to stand up and defend your position, that you are expecting Tasmanians to continue to -
September 27, 2022 - 12:07pm
Video - YouTube
-------
Mr Speaker, I rise this afternoon to speak on this matter of public importance on health.
There is no greater conversation I am hearing from people in our community at the moment than this Government putting the priorities of, for instance, the development of a football stadium over supporting our health services, supporting people who have been on waiting lists for housing and supporting people who do an incredible job in our education system. There is no doubt that this matter of public importance around health and the priorities in our community is the number-one conversation going on for Tasmanians right now.
I made a commitment to the people in my community in coming to Hobart this week that I would deliver on their behalf a message to this Government to ensure that, by the time Parliament was over this week, there was no doubt in the minds of this Government that Tasmanians do not want them to prioritise a stadium over health in Tasmania, they do not want this Government to prioritise a stadium over housing in Tasmania and they do not want this Government to prioritise a stadium over supporting education in this community.
There is no doubt right now that this Government is so out of touch, it has its priorities wrong and does not seem to be able to figure out a way to come back to the focus and align themselves with the needs, concerns and priorities of Tasmanians. I said to the people of Tasmania on the waiting lists, whether they are waiting for specialists or for elective surgery, I said to the people in our community who are experiencing distress when they are waiting for ambulances, or being ramped at our hospitals, or people who are not able to be entered into the hospital system because of bed block, that I would deliver a message to this Government to say that they have their priorities wrong.
Tasmanians do not want a stadium over support of our health, support of housing, support of education, or support of our public sector workers, who right now are having to take action to be heard to have their conditions and their pay relative to the amount of effort, support and care they are giving and understanding that Tasmanians need. In order to do that I want to put on the record some public commentary around the Government and their inability to understand the priorities of Tasmanians right now, so there can be no question that the Government has heard these messages.
Just this morning in The Mercury, Michael wrote: 'I read that the Tasmanian government is going to spend $375 million as part payment on a football stadium when Tasmania is accepted into the AFL. I also read that the same government has offered a pay rise of 2.75 per cent to public sector workers over four years. What a joke. The public sector workers deserve more than this and must feel that the Government is' - I probably cannot say these words in Parliament, but people can read the Mercury for the comment. He continues: 'When taken to hospital with chest pains by the ambulance, who do a great job, you have the consolation of knowing that, at the very least, Tasmanians will have a stadium!' Closer to the Premier's home town on the North-West Coast, another comment from another Michael, not only asking the Premier, but also minister Jaensch: 'Can Minister Jaensch please explain how all Tasmanians will benefit from building a new stadium and having an AFL team? I may be a bit slow but I'm not stupid. As a pensioner living on the North-West Coast, will my cost of living go down? Will my power bill go down? Will my fuel bill go down? Will my weekly grocery bill go down? Will there be more doctors for me to choose from?'
As recently as this morning, having indicated to the community that this would be a matter of public importance for the Parliament to consider today, that we would be calling on the Government to correct their priorities and stand back from a stadium and actually focus on what Tasmanians want, there were responses made in my social media feed from locals. I am going to read some of those out so there is no question about the priority of Tasmanians: 'Tell the Government and the AFL to live in tents or cars for two months, with little money to live on, not knowing if they will have a hot meal, or when they can have a shower, or when they will be warm enough at night. It is a windy and rainy day coming. Is the tent going to stay up or will it be blown away? Maybe it could be their parents or children living like this. Would they be talking about building another stadium then?' Again, language not repeatable in the Parliament, but you get the point.
The people don't need it. Tell them to look around and see what is happening. So many people are out on the streets and hungry. They can't afford to buy things for their children to eat. I'm trying to help people, but finding it hard with no funding.
The priorities are education, housing, health. People need help.
From another member: 'It is also an issue for me that these big infrastructure projects seem to take forever to pay off. Instead of paying them off, they're constantly diverting the money to pay for something else that's been promised. I totally agree. It is not the stadium, it is the ongoing costs that Tasmanian people will have to cover'.
The government have their priorities wrong and have not done the work to really understand the commitment they are making to Tasmanians. They are putting this responsibility onto Tasmanian taxpayers without having done the work to understand the true costs of this stadium, whether it be the capital costs or the operational costs, the true cost of maintenance, the true cost of depreciation, or the true interest costs on the borrowings to deliver this big project.
It is not the right time for this Government to have their priorities so out of whack that they do not understand the priorities of Tasmanians. It is not the right time to be building another stadium in Hobart when we have extended waiting lists. We know that oral health is an indicator of all sorts of other future health issues yet we have so many people waiting on the oral health list. We have bed block and ambulance ramping. This is not the right time. The Government have their priorities wrong. Tasmanian Labor's priority is the Tasmanian people. Tasmanian Labor are focused on supporting Tasmanians.
Tasmanian Labor have been calling for Tasmanians to pay a Tasmanian price for Tasmanian power. Tasmanians are calling on this Government to stop the stupidity and walk away from their commitment to the stadium now.
This is not the right time. The right time now is for you to be focused on the things that Tasmanians need: support with health, housing and education. Our public sector workers need support with their wages and conditions. This Government have their priorities wrong. It is not the right time to be building a stadium in Hobart. Tasmanian Labor stands with the people of Tasmania and will support them to make sure this project does not go ahead.
September 27, 2022 - 12:39pm
Video - YouTube
-------
Mr Speaker, I am surprised that the Government, in putting forward its own matter to be discussed about the economy, and about the stadium, spoke for maybe just less than 10 minutes on a 40-minute opportunity.
This Government is determined, seemingly obsessed, with building a stadium and prioritising that over the needs of Tasmanians seeking support in the health system, Tasmanians who are desperate to find housing, Tasmanian educators who are desperate for the attention of this Government and the Minister to recognise the working conditions and the needs they have to support Tasmanian children, yet they can find one person to speak for less than 10 minutes on what seems to be a signature project for them right now.
I am not sure what they are trying to do with this this afternoon. I am confused by what has just happened. The member for Franklin just then suggested I was, and by association Tasmanian Labor was, tired and depressed. Anyone who knows me well, what fuelled my system in order to stand up for Tasmanians and to deliver a message on behalf of Tasmanians to this Government, anyone who knows Tasmanian Labor right now, anyone who has been working with us or are supported by us, would now describe us as tired and depressed.
When someone is standing in this parliament to advocate for a Government position in under 10 minutes, and suggests that we do not know what we are talking about, they need to go back and reflect on where they are at right now. Reflect on what their priorities are and get out of their bubble and reconnect with Tasmanians in order to understand the message Tasmanians are so desperately trying to deliver to them: that it is not the right time now to build another stadium in Tasmania, another stadium in Hobart, when there are so many other pressures facing the Tasmanian community.
The motion before us reads that we welcome the Tasmanian Government for the commitment to an arts, entertainment and sporting precinct, noting the report and noting that the proposed stadium would create opportunities for Tasmania. I have not spoken to anybody in the last 24 hours, 48 hours, in the last seven to 10 days, who welcomes this commitment, this obsession by the Government. Therefore, this afternoon, we will not be supporting this motion before the House.
I will run through the questions that have been raised with me and share them with the Parliament in order that the Government might take some time to reconsider their position. That is what we have been asking the Government to do: to reconsider the burden that you are placing on Tasmanians at a time where it is not needed and it is not wanted. The Tasmanian community cannot see how you could possibly afford to prioritise this over investments in other essential needs for Tasmanians.
As someone who has been in this place for a short time, but in local government for much longer, and been involved with so many capital projects and large projects, there is a whole range of things that an organisation that is credible and actually worthy of delivering such great projects would go through to get to a point where they would make a commitment. They would go through the process of really understanding both the capital costs that they are burdening a community with, and also those operational costs.
Earlier this morning, it was suggested that we did not understand the difference between capital and operational because we were comparing some operational costs and capital costs, as though the Treasurer himself did not understand that you build this stadium and there are going to be operational costs. Perhaps he did not understand this because they have spoken today, and on previous days and in other weeks here, about the fact they are going to do a feasibility study, and that will inform a business case. Minister Barnett said earlier that if that business case stacks up, we might deliver this project. It sounds to me as though the strength and support of this Government for this significant project is starting to fall away. It sounds to me as though there is division in the Government about this project. It sounds to me as though there are people who are not so sure this is the right thing to do.
My question to the Government, to the Premier, is this: why do you remain so obsessed when there are so few people who support this? Earlier, my colleague, Dr Broad, shared with the Parliament the bizarre effort of one of the members from the North-West Coast last night, seeking to somehow make a reflection on the Opposition; they just backfired so poorly. The last count that I saw was 110 comments, most of which were delivering to the Government a very clear message to say this is not the right time and not the right type of infrastructure to invest in. Tasmanians are really clear. Tasmanians live each and every day with the pressures of the rising cost of living, the pressure of not being able to make either their rental or their mortgage payments with increasing interest rates, and the pressure of increasing power prices.
This Government from time to time says to us that we stand for nothing. I will tell you right now what we stand for. We stand for supporting Tasmanians in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. We call on the Government to cap power prices, do the things that are within your control, and ensure Tasmanians can pay a Tasmanian price for Tasmanian power, because all of the things you do, that say we have no position on, are things you are failing with as a government. Anyone who has been watching for months and months will see how strongly Tasmanian Labor was standing in the corner of regional Tasmania, and standing in the corner of local fishers, ensuring that the economies of regional Tasmania were not devastated by the decisions the Government were about to make. It is only through us, working with Tasmanians, that the Tasmanian economy and the regional economy continue to be supported in this place. It is not because of the work of the Government. The Government are seeking to undermine Tasmanians in their effort to support regional Tasmania.
It is Tasmanian Labor that are standing with the people right now and supporting the needs in this community. With this stadium that is being proposed, where the Government has no idea how much it is going to cost, I heard our leader, Ms White, say just earlier that it is curious that there was a decision, a commitment, of this Government made one day in this place, seemingly without any prior consultation or discussion with anybody, and someone just stood up, the former premier, and announced that we would have this stadium. There was a suggestion that a stadium at Regatta Point might cost $750 million. There was an admission, by parts, that this was really just the scratchings off the back of an envelope, and the Government did not really know how much such a proposal would cost. When we consider these matters it is important that the Government presents figures. Maybe to build a stadium there might be a certain amount, but what about all the associated infrastructure, and all the other things that are required to be delivered to ensure that a project actually comes off?
If this Government is so good at developing capital projects, they would know and be up front with the Tasmanian community about all these other associated costs. How curious is the 'back of the envelope' scratching of $750 million - and then a new decision to move it around the corner and down the road a bit at Macquarie Point. A different type of stadium with different qualities and different elements: again, $750 million. I heard someone earlier in this place say it could be at least twice that amount to realistically develop a stadium of this nature in Tasmania. Who knows how much it is going to be, but just say it is twice as much.
This morning we heard the Treasurer say, not that this Government is committed to $375 million towards this project, but up to half of the capital costs of this project. We are burdening Tasmania with an unknown amount of capital infrastructure to be delivered for a stadium that people do not need or want. It is not $375 million that the Government has previously suspected. The Treasurer this morning said it will be up to half that amount.
Let us move away from capital costs for a while and talk about operational expenses. We are hearing that, yes, there is a feasibility study that will happen, that will lead to informing a business case. This Government has committed: in the Hansard earlier this week said, 'We will build a stadium at Macquarie Point'. It is determined that it will happen without any understanding of those operational costs that are going to occur in that place: without any understanding of the maintenance costs; without any understanding of the depreciation burden; without any understanding of the increasing costs of interest that will be applied across the borrowings to deliver this project; and without any knowledge of what that is going take. It is irresponsible of this Government to make this decision and burden Tasmanians at this time when there are so many other pressures in our community.
If we move away from capital costs, from operational costs, and towards the infrastructure that already exists in Tasmania, there has been some commentary this afternoon about the incredible York Park in Northern Tasmania, in the electorate that I represent in Bass. Yes, there have been commitments to develop and do some upgrades at York Park, and they would see York Park deliver to the capacity of this proposed new stadium in Hobart. It is ridiculous when you have this facility in northern Tasmania. Whenever I have been at an event and people are visiting and coming to play on that turf - the turf that I have been so proud, as part of my time with the Launceston City Council, to know that our team actually managed and maintain and look after that turf - gets applauded as one of the best turfs in the country. People love coming to York Park. You sit in that stadium and you can see the beautiful surrounds of the mountains. You can see the great old buildings around the place. It is a great place to come, not only for sporting events, but as one member said this morning, in this new stadium in Hobart they are hoping to have other sporting events in Hobart. Well, York Park already attracts and delivers great alternate sporting events - we have great BBL, the WBBL, whether it has been soccer or rugby, there are lots of other things that happen.
We also have great events. There are incredible events that happen in Northern Tasmania. There has been a commitment made to the communities of Northern Tasmania - in fact, the entire Tasmanian community, particularly the people of Launceston and Northern Tasmania. At the moment, we have incredible gains at York Park. We have been able to attract marque games to York Park, and there has been a commitment that there will be no fewer games at York Park in Launceston. If we are able to have four marque football events in Launceston and four other marque events - blockbuster games and blockbuster events - at York Park, then how is it that that commitment will remain, if the proposed new Hobart stadium is going to attract and deliver 44 events? To make that project viable, they want to tell Tasmanians that they are going to have and deliver and attract 44 major events - sell-out events, no less - in order to make the viability work. If you are going to try to have a top-level event in Hobart every eight days, first, when we have mounting cost-of-living pressures, how are you expecting the Tasmanian community to have the additional funds in their budgets to be able to front up to an event every eight days, not even every eight weeks, and to do that without actually taking those events away from Launceston and northern Tasmania?
There has been a commitment and I have already put it on the record, that the community of Launceston and Northern Tasmania will fight this Government tooth and nail if that commitment is not maintained. If Launceston and Northern Tasmania, knowing the benefit of these types of activities that come, particularly in the winter months in Northern Tasmania, have them taken away from our community to help make more viable another stadium that is not needed and not wanted in Hobart, then there will be an uprising in Northern Tasmania.
There is also a great stadium in the South. Bellerive is a stadium in the South and other members who have been to events there have talked about the benefits of such a stadium. When Tasmania has great infrastructure, the member who stood and spoke earlier said he wants this new stadium to be the best of the best in the country.
Sometimes you have to look at the type of infrastructure you need in the community and ask, what do we have now, what can we do to improve that, do we need to be the very best in the country right now, or are there other priorities?
Yesterday we posted a petition to stop the stadium to allow Tasmanians to directly have their voices heard and thousands of people have already signed that petition. It is clear, more than anything that has happened in my time here in a little over a year, that Tasmanians do not want this. I do not understand how this Government is so out of touch or cannot hear and cannot see the rising of the Tasmanian community to say, 'you have got this wrong'. I have had phone calls from people who have been die-hard in the ditch life-time supporters of the Liberal Party who say 'you know we are supporters of the Liberal Party and they have got this wrong. It is not the right time and it is not the right investment now'. Even the taskforce that did the work around this project said that in the future it might be the right time for new a stadium infrastructure in Tasmania, but it is not the right time now. York Park could have improvements and Bellerive could have improvements, but the AFL and others already deliver incredible outcomes on these facilities.
I intentionally used the word 'infrastructure' in my contribution. It has been said that as the member for Bass, I made a statement to say that we do not support new infrastructure. That could not be further from the truth and the Government knows that and the Government, in intentionally misrepresenting me both online on social media and in this place, has been called out. I have called them out and said that is not was being said at the time. Not only that, the Speaker made a ruling on that, yet people, the Premier and Ministers included, and even the new backbencher now, continue to reflect on that ridiculous comment. Earlier today, it was said that when a member makes a personal explanation, that should be good enough for members. There has been a personal explanation made and I hope the Chamber acknowledges that and works with that.
Perhaps this Government is so desperate that it wants to get out of the feeling it has right now that they have got this so wrong, that they have to clutch at straws to try to make some sort of reflection on people on this side of the House in order to distract from what is going on. Support is falling away from them, there is internal division about this project, yet they remain obsessed with delivering on this project. We will not be misrepresented in this place and we will not have our record tarnished.
It has been suggested that Tasmanian Labor stands for nothing. I tell you what we stand for, we stand for Tasmanians. We stand for supporting Tasmanians who are under pressure right now. We stand for Tasmanians being able to not only pay a Tasmanian price for Tasmanian power, we stand for Tasmanians in regional Tasmania being supported for the contributions they make to their communities and when this Government seeks to undermine that, we stand with them to make sure that will not eventuate. I have talked about our fishers, we have talked about power prices, and there are 70 farmers right now under the line of the transmission line and they have come together to deliver a message to this Government to say 'you need to respect and value us, at least equally to the energy policies of Tasmania to ensure that the contributions we can make to Tasmania, to the country and to the world, are not undermined by competing policies from this Government'. They feel like they are not being heard or respected and that is on this Government; that is not on Tasmanian Labor. Tasmanian Labor stand with Tasmanians. We stand with supporting Tasmanians to ensure that they can have a great life.
This morning on the lawns, we saw educators, support staff, people who give their life's work to educating our children, feeling disrespected and disregarded by this Government, not even having the time to go out and meet with them to hear how concerned they are right now about the circumstances in which they are living. That is what Tasmanian Labor does. We stand with people who need support to stand up to this Government to see that they can prioritise on the right things. Getting back to basics is important and it is important for Tasmanians that this Government understands what is really going on.
In the context of building this new stadium and proposing to do this in Hobart, with the contributions I have heard in question time this morning and repeatedly and on other days this week, it is clear to me that this Government has not read the 3P Advisory report, and does not understand just how much pressure the Tasmanian community is under. The Government does not understand that it is not just a small number of people who are struggling in Tasmania right now, it does do not seem to even understand its own dashboard result in terms of how many Tasmanians are waiting for housing, waiting to see specialists, or on the elective surgery list. It just goes on and on and on: the number of Tasmanians who are feeling let down. They are feeling left behind, and they are feeling like this Government does not want to or does not know how to understand what is really bothering them right now and what pressures they have in their community. If this Government took a moment and took a breath and said, 'maybe we could go out and have conversations with everyday Tasmanians,' then they would understand that pressure but they are so obsessed with developing this new stadium in Tasmania that they do not seem to want to get what is important to most Tasmanians.
That is one of the things that I have not understood in my time here. I have not understood the difference between whether this Government does not understand or does not want to understand, that it does not hear or does not want to hear, that it does not get it or does not want to get it. For the many Tasmanians right now who are struggling, it is important for this Government to get back to basics and fix their priorities so that Tasmanians do not feel like they are not cared for and they are not important.
There are so many people in our community making a contribution each day, whether they be in small business, on the land or on the water, whether they be an employee in our public service, or whether they be a worker in an incredible range of industries that we have in Tasmania. It almost feels to me that in every sector that I come across, everybody I speak to, there are worries in Tasmania that the Government is just not picking up on and understanding why it is not the right time to build this infrastructure in Hobart right now.
I also want to reflect on things I have been hearing about why this is not the right time. We all know that infrastructure has the capacity to develop economic growth, however, sometimes you can build things that do not support growth, or do not deliver outcomes for a community, or do not seem to be productive or beneficial decisions and projects. If this Government focused on delivering things of quality for Tasmanian people, then they might trust that - as Minister Barnett said - this Government has the capacity to walk and chew gum. I regularly drive up and down the Midland Highway and I speak to other people on that road. They question why it is that whenever they see a new piece of road being built, that not long after it feels like the quality is just not there. What is it about this Government that is finding it so difficult to deliver basic infrastructure projects to the quality that Tasmanians expect? Why is it that when you could be delivering productive infrastructure and positive outcomes for Tasmanians, you struggle to be able to deliver on the quality that people expect.
Right now, it is not just that Tasmanians have all these other pressures, that Tasmanians have all these other worries that they are not able to live on and live with comfortably, but they do not trust that this Government can deliver. They do not trust that when the Government makes announcements it is able to follow through. We started to hear some quivers in the voices of some of the ministers this morning, saying 'well, maybe,' or we saw masses of pauses and crickets when tested and pushed on whether these ministers actually supported the stadium, whether they could respond - at moments there was silence and crickets. When we cannot even tell whether this Government is united and backing of this stadium, why would the Tasmanian people trust this Government to deliver it? Why would the Tasmanian people trust this Government? One of the comments on Mr Ellis' Facebook page said: Why would we trust that if you commit to this project, you are not just going to leave all the other projects behind like, for instance, in our community in Launceston, the LGH?
How many times have there been announcements for a $580 million masterplan development of the LGH? How many times has that promise been made to the community but not followed up on? Yes, there are works progressing. Yes, there are things in train, but for the cost you are saying this stadium will be, you could deliver the LGH masterplan and more. You could deliver other projects in the community. Why are you prioritising a stadium in Hobart that we do not need or want over the redevelopment of the LGH that the community is crying out for? The LGH has the worst bed-block, ambulances are ramping and ambulance officers at their wits' end and close to breaking point.
We heard the part-time Health Minister and part-time Premier this morning talking about statistics of new nurses. How many nurses are not in those positions because they are off, they are unwell, they are stressed, they are not able to front up to work because of the conditions that they have been in? We know that the work required at the LGH is urgent. We know that this Government, if it had its priorities right would commit the funds to the LGH development over another stadium in Hobart. That is not what this Government is about. We know that.
All of our offices on this side have people every week coming in who are struggling to secure safe and affordable housing. You can spruik all sorts of numbers about housing developments in Tasmania but how many houses are you actually delivering? The figures you have put out in your big plans for housing should see you building three houses a day. For every day you do not deliver, that is a greater burden on the expectation that you will deliver. It is not okay for Tasmanians any more to hear Minister upon Minister make announcements and not follow up and deliver. Tasmanians lose faith in people when they make statements and do not or cannot deliver, whether it be on the LGH, whether it be on housing, or whether it be the people in our public sector workforce who have shared what is happening in their workplaces.
We saw the educators this morning talking about their poor conditions. We have seen ambulance officers taking action. We have seen our nurses, our child safety officers and our firies all taking action because this Government is not listening. Right now, when there are so many challenges, whether it be the workforce, whether it be health, whether it be housing, whether it be the pressures of cost of living, Tasmanians will not be fooled by this Government. Tasmanians are catching on to the fact that this Government can say all sorts of things but cannot deliver. Right now, when you are saying when you want to deliver this new stadium in Hobart, they are asking why would you do that when you are not even delivering on the basics? You are not getting the basics right now so why would we trust that you want this big great shiny object in Hobart when we want the fundamentals to be delivered?
Tasmanians expect a government to understand where they are at, to understand what it feels like to live under pressure. This Government repeatedly says it has all these great supports delivering for people in our community who are finding it tough. What I have said repeatedly, and what they do not seem to be able to understand, is that it is not just Tasmanians in a small cohort who are struggling. There are more and more Tasmanians every day finding it tough. There are more Tasmanians living every day needing health services that they cannot get access to. There are more Tasmanians every day on the lists for housing but they have no confidence or trust that they will be able to secure housing. There are more Tasmanians struggling every day yet this Government seems to think that a brand new big shiny object in Hobart is going to somehow fix the economy. I thought he got it wrong when he said it first but it has never been withdrawn and they keep doubling down on it, but the Premier seemed to indicate to Tasmanians that we build a big stadium and we will be able to fund health. We will be able to fund housing.
I get the economy and I get growing the economy is important, but that does not give you extra state revenue to the point where you can fund your hospitals. If it can, I would love to see the evidence. In my time at the Launceston City Council we did a lot of looking at stadium development around the country. Not one stadium did we ever find that actually had positive revenue. When you go through your feasibility and you get to your business case and you say, 'Oops, we buggered up there, because you cannot actually do this, what we said to the Tasmanian people is not, true', what are you going to do? Where will you get the funds from to cover the operational expenses for this stadium so that it does not end up like the Silverdome, which people refer to as a white elephant? You say that the solution to this stadium is events, and how amazing would that be?
Other people have talked up the outcomes of basketball in Tasmania. They have talked up the outcomes of My State Arena. They have talked up the outcomes of the JackJumpers. There was a pretty clever and intelligent person driving all of those things who made masses of personal investment into making sure that would happen, on what is comparatively a fairly small scale. You have a stadium that needs 5000 people to see a basketball game a few times a year, and other events. That is nothing compared to a 23,000-seat stadium. That is in addition to the stadium in the North that can have that capacity and the stadium in the South. Then you want to put 44 events there? I can remember when the PW1 project was being spruiked. There were going to be all these events, and it was going to be all so amazing. It is an incredible facility, but how many events have been delivered there? I would love this Government to put on the record how many events it has been able to attract to that venue. How many events do you seriously think that you can attract to this new stadium that will not take away from other events in Tasmania? People have talked about Robbie Williams coming to Tasmania. Take out a few football games and let us say 35 others just like that.
This Government is so out of touch that it has its priorities wrong. Tasmanians know it, they can see it, and they are trying to send you a message. It is time you stopped and listened because, if not, to quote Robbie Williams: 'You are going to come undone. No one is ever going to forget because right now you are doing something stupid'.
September 28, 2022 - 5:17pm
Video - YouTube
-------
Ms FINLAY question to PREMIER, Mr ROCKLIFF
Just over a week ago, you said that a new stadium in Hobart would allow people to watch, and I quote, 'our very own Tassie AFL team take on some of the league's toughest opponents'. Despite your earlier promises, does your statement now mean that there will be no blockbuster matches played in Launceston, and all the best games will now be played in the south?
September 29, 2022 - 10:36am
Video - YouTube
-------
Mr Speaker, I rise this evening to provide my reflection on this week in Parliament, and in particular, on a matter that was raised today.
In fact, it was not raised because there was no response given to a question in Question Time this morning. Generally, when I speak in this place, it is our responsibility to speak for all Tasmanians. As the member for Bass, I want to focus on some comments around Bass this evening and my concerns about broken promises.
It was suggested by the Premier this morning that parochialism is not something that is positive in Tasmania, and I would agree. However, making and delivering on promises is absolutely important to all Tasmanians. This morning, the Premier was asked about the commitment to Launceston and Northern Tasmania about the marque, or blockbuster games as they are known to some people. Games that are committed to be delivered out of York Park.
When that question was raised this morning the Premier did not have an answer. He skirted around it in all sorts of other ways but refused to back in and commit that Launceston and Northern Tasmania would continue to have marque games played at York Park. We know, as we have uncovered over the last few weeks, that this Government has not done its work and its does do not know the true costs of the stadium proposed in Hobart. The Government does not understand the full capital costs and it does not understand the operational costs because it has not done the work and it does not have a business case.
In doing so it has done some figures and has been presented with some information that suggests to make this stadium viable, it will have to host 44 events, that is one event every eight days. In order to do that anyone who understands the economy and the capacity of the economy, there is no question that they will have to drag away, not only the marque football games from Northern Tasmania but the additional marque events that have been promised to that community.
I note that Mr Wood, member for Bass, is here in the Chamber and I wonder what he personally thinks about this stadium being built in Hobart and taking away the commitments and breaking the promises of the people to Bass and Northern Tasmania? This Government is on the record, it has said that any development of AFL in Tasmania would not take away what has been community and business-saving activities in winter around marque football events and marque events.
This morning when asked about this the Premier was not able to provide a clear answer and it is not acceptable. It is not acceptable to rob Peter to pay Paul to put another stadium in Hobart that is not needed or wanted by Tasmanians and to take away the benefits of the existing infrastructure that already serves AFL really well.
My reflections on this week are if this Government is serious and actually wants to continue with developing this stadium in Hobart then it needs to back-in the commitments already made. They need to make sure they complete the improvements that are going to happen at York Park in Northern Tasmania. They need to make sure they continue to commit to the marque not only AFL games but other events that they have said will continue to be delivered out of Launceston and northern Tasmania.
As proposed this morning in a question by another member of this place, for instance the funding that they say this stadium might cost, they have already proposed $580 million for a master plan for the Launceston General Hospital. They could deliver on that project now with the funds that they are proposing for this other stadium. As far as we have seen there are hardly any funds committed for that next stage masterplan for the Launceston General Hospital.
While this Government is so obsessed with the development of this new stadium in Hobart what I want to know for the people of Launceston and Northern Tasmania, for the people of Bass is, will this Government back-in the commitment to continue the improvements at York Park? Will they back in the marquee games for AFL and other blockbuster events that serve Launceston and northern Tasmania.
September 29, 2022 - 6:39pm
Video - YouTube
-------
Ms FINLAY question to PREMIER, Mr ROCKLIFF:
The Examiner revealed last night that the plan for your new $750 million stadium in Hobart includes hosting NRL, A-League and Big Bash matches. It is clear your plan is for the new stadium in Hobart to get all the blockbuster AFL games.
In Question Time today, member for Clark, Elise Archer, was heard to say, 'Could have sworn Hobart was the capital city'. Given UTAS Stadium currently hosts Big Bash and A-League matches, will all of these events now move to your new stadium in Hobart at the expense of northern Tasmania?
October 18, 2022 - 10:48am
Video - YouTube
-------
Your plan to host three-quarters of Tasmanian AFL games in Hobart, including all the blockbuster games, undermines both the taskforce report and your promises to the people of northern Tasmania.
The taskforce report says: Launceston would host and benefit from blockbuster matches being planned at an enhanced UTAS Stadium. Why have you ignored the taskforce report and your promises to the people of northern Tasmania?
How many AFL blockbuster games will be held in Launceston?
October 25, 2022 - 11:10am
Video - YouTube
-------
Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise to put on record my contributions to the Stadiums Tasmania Amendment (Transfers) Bill 2022.
I support the comments made by Opposition Leader, Rebecca White, and others who have spoken this afternoon. I reinforce the comments already made that perhaps greater consideration for the respect of the day, and considerations of the matters that might have come before this place, it does seem slightly tone deaf to have this before us.
Before I make my contribution, I acknowledge that the Leader of the Greens reflected on the only moment this morning that caused - there was an outpouring of emotion throughout the whole morning, but an audible outpouring was in response to this. It worried me in that moment. In making my contributions this afternoon, I will reflect on a few matters in the second reading speech because they are curious. They usefully clarify some of the elements of this bill. They also potentially undermine the Government's position in terms of their current obsession with the development of stadiums and support the position of most Tasmanians we are hearing from, their concerns at the priorities of this Government and where their head is at. The importance of stadiums versus health, education or housing, for instance.
I am going to go through this second reading speech. Yes, it is about the establishment of Stadiums Tasmania and the commencement of operations. We get to paragraph 5 and it talks about recognising how stadiums bring enormous economic benefit, business development and job opportunity into communities, particularly with visitor economies. I am on record for months now reinforcing the importance of York Park in Northern Tasmania. York Park as a stadium in Northern Tasmania does not just provide opportunity for footy fans to get in and love footy content but, at the time of the year when those games are provided, supports the Northern winter economy, particularly our visitor economy. Recognising that is important is good to have on the record through this.
It also supports the position of so many northern Tasmanians who are concerned about the obsession of this Government, which has its priorities so wrong at the moment. Our great leader and I often have a conversation that differs slightly on this but we always refer to this stadium the Government is proposing as a $750 million stadium. There is no way known to anybody who has ever worked in any project, whether it be infrastructure, sporting, whatever, that anyone could deliver the stadium being proposed for $750 million. There is no stadium of its kind across the country yet in current figures with current investment in current development environments that could deliver such a significant stadium for that amount. We refer to it as a $750 million stadium but throughout this contribution I might also make other relevances. When we are talking about the benefits of stadiums in communities, we also need to talk about the costs of stadiums in communities. I am pleased to see that there is a recognition of the importance of these things, particularly for economies and the roles they play, as noted here, not only in cities but in our regions.
This second reading speech refers to election commitments. I want to draw on some election commitments made by this Government at the most recent election and remind them of their responsibilities. Again acknowledging the comments of the Leader of the Greens, this Stadiums Tasmania bill is for stadiums across Tasmania but the thing on the mind of everybody at the moment is the preposterous idea of developing a new stadium in Hobart. Yes, it will impact all Tasmanians. It is on the mind of all Tasmanians that it is not the right priority and not the right time.
There was an election commitment made to the communities of the North in the election of 2021. That election commitment was built up off their own AFL taskforce report, as I understand. That report was used to create the York Park future vision document. That document in turn was used to underpin an election commitment by the Government that they would pursue the redevelopment of York Park and, in doing so and supporting the AFL taskforce, ensure an equal share of AFL content and blockbuster games in the North. Yes, this new stadium proposes to have a significant impact across Tasmania but it is also causing Tasmanians right across the state to question where this Government is at the moment and why they seem so obsessed with this new development. If it goes ahead it will impact not just the community but the economy of Northern Tasmania that already exists and is built upon the commitment of these games in Northern Tasmania.
Our leader has already raised concerns about how assets that come into Stadiums Tasmania will be disposed of. There is a reference further down the second reading speech about this authority owning, managing and overseeing stadiums but the question of how these assets will be disposed of is important. I raised concerns about the processes of disposal when the first tranche of legislation came through, whether that be for sale or demolition and reuse by this Government. At the time I used Bellerive as the example with the prime real estate at Bellerive. Once all these assets are brought into Stadiums Tasmania and there is board, a CEO, a plan and a stadiums strategy, who says that it is not the intention through ministerial direction or statement, or through the policies of the Government, or the plans of the entity to intentionally seek to mothball Bellerive or York Park in order to make a stadium they are proposing to develop in Hobart stack up.
All of the figures presented as part of the - I heard it referred to today as a prefeasibility, the work done by PWC so far, anybody I speak to who has any sense about understanding attendance, numbers, where people from across the state will travel to go to an event, the cost of bringing in events into Tasmania, if this Government goes ahead blindly, despite the feelings of the Tasmanian people, and builds this stadium in Hobart, it will absolutely impact the events that already occur in the north and at the Bellerive stadium. If they intentionally seek to mothball those under the guise of Stadiums Tasmania and dispose of, sell or demolish those assets, it will need to be, as our Leader has said, the financial processes but also the approvals for that very clearly stepped out.
Having been involved with the Launceston City Council for the best part of 20 years, in my first months of being elected mayor of Launceston, Jim Bacon declared York Park to be the home of football in the North. The team of people who work and have worked for many years as part of the York Park team have developed what is celebrated by people across the state and the country as one of the best stadiums around - and not just stadiums, but the turf, the surface our team there has worked so hard to develop and only just recently re-laid. For them to come across into Stadiums Tasmania, which I am sure they are supportive of, because if you are in a stadium environment you get to be something bigger and that brings its positives, but to trust the process.
I do not see the risk as much in the North as I do in the South where there is a duplicate of infrastructure. To then have those assets and what you have worked so hard to develop for so long taken away from under you would be devastating for the teams of people either at Blundstone Arena or York Park at the moment. Understanding those transfers and the authorities to dispose of those assets in the future will be important. The second reading speech recognises the importance of these stadiums to the regions and it also recognised how much of a quality facility York Park already is, which would bring into question again why there is a need for another stadium, a $750 million stadium, a billion dollar stadium, a billion-and-a-half-dollar stadium, in Hobart when we already have facilities.
I quote from the second reading speech: Last summer Tasmania hosted an historic Ashes test match for the very first time. The AFL blockbuster between Hawthorn and Essendon at UTAS Stadium was sold out, as were two historic AFL finals matches. We have a facility in Tasmania that hosted AFL finals matches, played at UTAS Stadium in September, the very first time we have hosted AFL finals in the state. You include in your own second reading speech just how fantastic these facilities already are, how celebrated they are, that when we have visiting teams here, they cannot help themselves that every presidential lunch and every media release talked about how great the facility is and how great the surface is and how great the teams are that have built that up there - but the Premier thinks we need to have a new stadium in Hobart.
The AFL taskforce report acknowledged the role Bellerive and York Park would play in the future strategy for an AFL team. Maybe sometime in the future we would need future AFL infrastructure but it is not the right time and Tasmanians know it is not the right priority to be investing in right now. The Minister's own second reading speech identifies that. Not only does it identify that, it also identifies that the nature of stadiums is that they are complex and resource-intensive to own, operate and maintain. I am going to paraphrase the Premier now. I do not understand how so far into a conversation, when there is so much community commentary around this proposed new stadium, that the Government does not take a breath and say, 'Okay, maybe we've got this wrong. How are we going to correct our pathway on this?'.
It was not that long ago that the Premier, on what we call a tile on Facebook with a picture of himself, declared - and I remind you that this second reading speech said - that stadiums are complex, resource-intensive to own, operate and maintain. I can tell you, because of the work we did at the Launceston City Council and I was aware of the research, that there was a time when there were no stadiums in Australia that actually made any money, that created a net positive outcome. There may be one now. As I understand it, a stadium that has a commercial tenant the scale of seven may actually return a profit, but other than that, they are cost centres. They are investments in opportunity in states. They are not revenue raisers.
The Premier says, 'A stadium and entertainment precinct will help fund health and education systems that we can all be proud of'. Then, in another place, says, '… and build homes for Tasmanians'. I know that someone like the Treasurer might stand up and say, 'Finlay does not get it. She does not understand economic stimulus. She does not understand how things like this create economic benefit'. Economic benefit is different from direct state revenue and revenue you can generate and get benefit from to invest in something else. To be able to put on the record and say to those few Tasmanians who say, 'Great, we'll have this stadium and it will help fund health and education and build homes for Tasmanians', that in itself, having to get to that level of misrepresentation of the reality, demonstrates the weak footing this proposed stadium is on.
In terms of economic benefit, I do understand the economic benefit because I felt it in Launceston. That is why, over the months that have continued to see this Premier on the back of the previous premier obsess about this new stadium, I have been relentless in making sure the Premier answers a really simple question that he seems unwilling to, although implies that he has answered, in terms of games being played in the North. I want to make a couple of comments about some of the suggestions of what is going to happen in this new stadium.
Today we awoke to an exclusive interview between Rob Shaw (The Examiner) and the Premier about the stadium. There are some interesting comments in here that are relevant. I have been talking to many people in my community in Northern Tasmania and the feedback that has been provided now about the Premier and this Government in delivering mixed messages. In fact, I had someone say to me today that he was using weasel words to try to get out of answering direct questions about this stadium. Rob Shaw could not get direct answers from the Premier when he tackled him on this stadium deal. He said that Mr Rockliff was non-committal. 'Mr Rockliff declined to answer whether he thought most Tasmanians wanted the stadium'. I know that when you do not answer a question, that is actually answering the question. When you do not want to say yes or no to something, you have something else on your mind. Rob Shaw said Mr Rockliff declined to answer whether he thought most Tasmanians wanted the stadium. We all know most Tasmanians do not want the stadium. We all know that most Tasmanians know it is the wrong priority.
We also know through what has been said in The Examiner today that the Premier knows that too. If there is anything that this Premier wants to be known for and to leave a legacy with his leadership in Tasmania, the way that I hear people describe this Premier is that they want him to make decisions in the right interests of Tasmania. If he stood back from this, took a breath and said, 'You know what? Actually, I think we've got this wrong', he would be respected for that and would not have to not answer questions in the Parliament or in the media. When the Premier said that he does not know whether Tasmanians support a stadium, that in itself is insightful. The other thing that gets said a lot, and our leader has reinforced it again today, is that Tasmanian Labor supports a team for Tasmania. I heard the Leader of the Greens also say that today. It can never be said that we do not have on the record that we support a Tasmanian team and we have for some time been trying to clarify from the Government where they in fact have tied together the team and the stadium.
Again, in speaking to Rob Shaw today, the Premier talked about the team and separately about the stadium. The Premier has confirmed that having a team and building a stadium is not something that Tasmanian Labor and, as I understand it, the Tasmanian Greens, have ever supported putting together. We absolutely 100 per cent support Tasmania having a team but not having this stadium. One of the other things that was put in writing today - and it has been put in writing in two places in different ways and I would like this clarified by the Government - is that there is, in the same breath, a statement saying that the Government is capping its contribution at $375 million. That is on the premise that the project will be a $750 million build. Again, in writing, the Premier has said: We are being very clear that our contribution will be capped at 50 per cent. Fifty per cent is not $375 million.
As I said before, anyone who can develop this project and get away with it for $750 million will be doing well in a future where we do not yet understand the reality of what the costs will be at that time. This project will not be under $1 billion. It is not true to say they are capping their contribution at $375 million, and if they are on the record as saying they are capping their contribution at 50 per cent, then they need to be consistent in the way they talk about that, because 50 per cent of an unknown amount is like writing a blank cheque for the taxpayers of Tasmania and that is just not good enough.
The other mixed messages - and as someone described to me today, weasel words - are about the nature of games committed to the Northern community, in fact, to the entire Tasmanian community, but at York Park. Language is important, and it gets thrown back in my face all the time. When I was being interviewed about the stadium not that long ago, I said something like, 'It is not the right time for infrastructure in Tasmania', and everyone went 'Ha, ha, ha, that is hilarious, she does not support infrastructure'. Those people do not know me so well, but language is important. We have been asking very clear questions of this Premier about an equal share of AFL games and blockbuster games in the North because the Northern economy is underpinned by those games right now.
In the paper today, they talk about 'content'. In the way that the Government might throw back references to infrastructure to me, I am going to throw back the word 'content'. What is content? When you say 'content' and then you include AFLW, VFL and VFLW, that is not talking about an equal share of AFL games, it is not talking about an equal share of blockbuster games. I know that when, assumedly, the Government dropped some details to one of the media outlets recently, in The Advocate in October, they said 'a Tasmanian AFL team would play seven of its rostered home games at a controversial new stadium in Hobart leaving the north with only four, it was revealed'. Interestingly, in the same article, they talked about seven AFL games attracting 16,000 people on average.
They talked about seven NRL games, six A-League games, international rugby, BBL, and international cricket. What has not been said - although we have just asked some questions and got some answers in the other place - is how much it costs to bring those games down here. You can talk about the benefits, but if you are being up-front and honest with the Tasmanian community you would talk about the costs. Seven NRL games in a year - some simple maths here - is at the cost of between $300,000 and $500,000 per game - so, seven times $500,000. We are talking about a lot of money to bring games to Tasmania. If you can pull that off as a Government that is fantastic, but to imply that the net operating outcomes of this stadium will be able to be invested into health, education and homes for Tasmanians, when to bring in those seven NRL games could cost, for each game, between $300,000 and $500,000, then you need to be real about exactly what will be happening. If those are the costs and the realities of games required to build up this stadium in Hobart, there is no doubt that the great content that we have in the North now, will be ripped out of the North and it will be prioritised into the South, whether by design of this Government or by requirement of the leagues.
In making my contribution on this stadium transfer bill, I want to be very clear that if this Stadiums Tasmania entity does get a chair, a board, a CEO, a plan, and it starts to deliver for Tasmania, then there will be a price to pay if, in building a Southern stadium, that content is taken away from the North in order to try to make a stadium in the South stack up. Then the Northern Tasmanian community will rise. In that I include the North, the North-West and the North-East and even the East Coast because so many Northern Tasmanians come to York Park to see great content. People from the South travel to the North to see great content. It is not good enough to continue to be focused on building a new stadium in Hobart when it is clear it is the wrong priority and it is clear that most of the Tasmanian community do not support it.
In speaking to this, this afternoon, I ask the Government to be upfront with the Tasmanian community. Take a breath and stop and think about what the Tasmanian community is telling you. It is not the right time and it is not the right priority. If you seek to undermine the good things that are happening in our regional communities where great content in the north underpins the winter economy for the Northern Tasmanian community, then it is not the right time to build this stadium. It is not the right priority and unless you can get the basics right now for all Tasmanians across health, housing and education, then the Tasmanian community will not come with you and they will not support you on this or other projects because it is not the right time and it is not the right priority.
November 8, 2022 - 4:32pm
Video - YouTube