Cassy O'Connor MP | Greens Leader
It’s a bittersweet day for Tasmanians who’ve long dreamed of our own AFL team.
We’ve got our team but what a price we’ve been asked to pay.
It’s effectively a billion dollar AFL license. That’s money that won’t be invested in health, housing or public education. It’s also looking like a half a billion dollar debt, at a minimum, which will be carried by generations of Tasmanians along with the hundreds of millions it will lose over decades.
So, there’ll be many Tasmanians who have mixed feelings today.
Today should be a time of celebration for all. Tasmanians should be united in celebration - but Jeremy Rockliff bowed to AFL bullying on the stadium and made the choice to divide us over the AFL and AFLW teams we deserve.
Tasmania deserved a team on our own merits. We didn’t deserve to be blackmailed by the suits in the AFL, or a jellyback Premier willing to kowtow to them.
This is a team with a billion dollar price tag, and at the expense of Tasmanians’ health, access to housing and education.
Responsible, decent governments will alway put essential services first. The Rockliff Liberal Government is more concerned with bread and circuses.
There’s a long way to go on this stadium. While we may have a team, the stadium is far from done and dusted and there are plenty of Tasmanians ready to fight it.