Jeremy Rockliff’s stadium debt is no joking matter
Where ‘not a cent more’ became ‘just a few more millions.’
“Did you hear the one about the empty stadium? It started to heat up when the fans left”.
If that made you groan, then I’m afraid it gets worse.
When Premier Jeremy Rockliff declared during the 2024 state election that the Tasmanian Government would contribute “not a cent more” than $375 million toward the Macquarie Point stadium, many of the population didn’t think he was kidding.
Yet the state’s contribution has quietly, bureaucratically, and politically crept beyond that self-imposed cap, not by directly writing another cheque, but by orchestrating a workaround that any comedy scriptwriter worth their salts would admire.
As Tasmanian Times reported, the Macquarie Point Development Corporation (MPDC) will now borrow extra funds and sell off land to fund the shortfall. What follows is a word soup explanation to state parliament, in which the government explains that “technically” it will avoid spending “more” state budget dollars, but in reality increasing the financial burden borne by Tasmanians.
You can imagine a Clarke and Dawe skit, where Bryan asks John (playing the Premier), how he can spend more money on the stadium and not lead the state into further debt.
Clarke: “The money borrowed by the government-owned MPDC is not the same as money borrowed by the government itself, particularly when it came to being accounted for in the state budget. So it’s not government money but MPDC money”.
Dawe: “But what happens if the MPDC can’t pay the loan back?”.
Clarke: “Well, it can’t pay the loan back. The MPDC doesn’t make actual money, it spends money”.
Labor, the Greens, and independent MPs haven’t held back. Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff accused Rockliff of “misleading the public,” pointing out that these false assurances helped him cling to the Premiership after a knife-edge election. Labor’s Josh Willie was even blunter, stating that the Premier had simply “lied” to Tasmanians.
In response, the Greens tabled a motion of no confidence in Parliament. It gained support from two independents, but Labor balked. Not out of faith in Rockliff, but out of fear of triggering another election.
So here we are. Tasmania’s Premier is still doing his stadium stand up routine. But nobody finds it funny.
And still we ask, why is this stadium so important to him?
Does Rockliff know something we don’t? Is there an asteroid heading our way that only the Macquarie Point stadium can deflect? Has the AFL threatened to blacklist Tasmania forever unless we cough up $750 million and a waterfront plot?
He’s become maniacal in his push for a sports ground while hospitals buckle, housing remains in crisis, and kids can’t find child care or dental care without a waiting list longer than the ticket queue for the latest visiting music US megastar (who won’t playing an extra show at Hobart’s new shiny, expensive, boutique venue).
Supporters of the stadium argue that it’s necessary to secure Tasmania’s long-coveted AFL team. But when those ticket prices are finally released, how many ordinary Tasmanians will still be cheering? Memberships might be $10 in the honeymoon phase, but this romance will need to be paid for. The stadium must generate returns. And you don’t balance the books with giggles and $10 memberships alone.
So who is this stadium really for?
Independent MP Kristie Johnson has stated in the past she thinks it’s purely for the AFL to laugh at our expense.
If Tasmania needs an AFL team so badly that it’s worth breaking the state’s finances, sacrificing public trust, and bulldozing a premier’s own election promise, then maybe we’ve got a warped sense of humour.
Because for most Tasmanians , the nurse finishing a double shift, the renter hit with another $50 increase, the parent driving two hours for child care, its not at all amusing.
Mac Point is now beyond a joke.