Tasmania is often described as the poorest state, with the unhealthiest and least well-educated population. It’s previously been derided as an ‘old people’s home in a national park’ because many Tasmanians are over the age of fifty. A combination of climate change, and a re-evaluation of life’s priorities since COVID-19 has seen a shift in that demographic. An influx of young professionals, often with families, relocating here has not only lifted our population’s total closer toward 600,000, it’s also helped dilute that dismissive old folks’ home tag – even if more than a few cashed up retirees have also recently chosen to make Tasmania home. This cohort however are a far cry from either needing or wanting the clichéd pipe and slippers – or the services of an aged care facility. They’ve also helped dilute the conservative attitudes long held by so many Tasmanians.

Anyone can observe that Tasmanians still spend an awful lot of time and energy arguing. We may all be united in the love we share for our isolated island home at the bottom end of the world, but our opinions about its identity and future direction can differ enormously. Generations of Tasmanians have spent decades tearing themselves apart over big economic decisions concerning the state’s future: whether or not to build dams and pulp mills; whether or not to keep logging native forests, whether or not to approve more mining; and whether or not pokies should be banned from pubs and clubs. No sooner has one issue been resolved, either permanently, or temporarily due to it being subsumed in the fast-moving news cycle, before the government lobs another one into the public arena. And the discussion merry-go-round about one more polarising issue is ignited yet again. It’s exhausting.

The debate currently raging across the length and breadth of Tasmania is whether or not a new stadium should be built in Hobart as a condition of Tasmania finally getting its own AFL team in the national league.

What began as another appeal to grant Tasmania a team – made to the AFL by former premier Peter Gutwein – soon morphed into a controversy over the terms such a deal would involve. When he resigned as premier, the nascent deal and associated terms were inherited by his successor, Jeremy Rockliff. A poisoned chalice if ever there was one, but he chose to sign off on them, without apparently consulting much, or at all, with his Cabinet or parliamentary colleagues, or indeed with Treasury. Secrecy about the terms meant no public consultation, hence we now have a situation that appears to be a fait accompli where the AFL has dictated there can be no team unless a new stadium is built.

For many Tasmanians this high-handed ultimatum is not only totally unreasonable, it also smacks of blackmail. Little wonder therefore that the result has seen heated and divided opinions being expressed around dinner tables, on social media, and in letters to editors.

Whether or not they follow football, hardly anyone I’ve canvassed for this article disagrees Tasmania should have its own team. It should have had one years ago, but there’s the rub. Those who now disagree say it’s too late. The time has passed for Tasmania to be included in the national league. With 18 teams the draw is already too crowded and approving a 19th licence is crazy. There needs to be a limit. They suggest a possible reason for the ‘no stadium no team’ ultimatum was that the terms were deliberately made so outrageously unfair and economically one-sided that the state government would simply refuse to accept it. And that would have meant the end of the matter with no loss of face on either side. Two of the people who expressed this opinion by the way are former AFL players, so not only are they strong supporters of the game, they can also be expected to know their way around it, politically speaking.

So far as stadiums go Tasmania has two of them already. One in Launceston, and one in the Hobart suburb of Bellerive. For years both have successfully hosted major AFL matches, cricket matches, and various musical concerts and events. Federal government funding has recently been provided to allow Launceston’s York Park stadium to be refurbished. Renovations include extending seating capacity to accommodate larger audiences – although I’m advised the crowds attending AFL matches when our part-time home team of Hawthorn is playing aren’t as well attended as they once were.*

However, according to the organisation’s outgoing CEO Gillon McLachlan, Launceston isn’t an acceptable home for a Tasmanian team. Supposedly there isn’t enough going on in Launceston to attract players, and Tasmania’s AFL HQ should be in the state’s capital. He’s appeared to overlook the fact Launceston is closer to the mainland in respect of air travel, and the UTAS stadium already has the required seating capacity – even if it doesn’t boast a roof. But neither do other stadia around the country where AFL games are played. Mr McLachlan continues to insist a new stadium is a mandatory condition of getting a team, and it must be in Hobart; it must have a roof; and its location must be the former industrial waterfront site at Macquarie Point. If these criteria aren’t met then Tasmania won’t get its team. End of story, at least his version of it.

The proposed stadium will dominate the site.

The disused Mac Point site has been the subject of several redevelopment projects over the years, and many millions of dollars in federal funding have already been provided to clean it up and decontaminate the residual chemical and toxic waste known to be present. It’s uncertain how much of this work has been fully completed, otherwise you would expect there would be more to show on the site thus far.

Even so plans for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Park, an Arts and Cultural Centre, and a recreational park at Mac Point, able to be experienced and enjoyed by everyone, were already well advanced. But the stadium proposal has caused uncertainty about how, or if, these plans will be included given the stadium now appears likely to dominate the entire site. Just like it’s dominating the debate.

Although federal funding for Mac Point’s redevelopment was approved and announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in April, the exact terms of how the $240m was to be distributed are unclear. The stadium was already a hotly-debated issue by this time, but when he officially announced the funding package, the PM chose his words carefully. He stressed it was for the redevelopment of Mac Point; the word stadium was not mentioned by either Albanese or his accompanying ministers.

Even without much information about the terms of the deal struck by premier Rockliff, followers and fans of AFL around the state supported the idea of a new stadium being built at Mac Point. Despite so many unanswered valid questions around the economics of the stadium deal, that included optimistic completion timelines, and stiff penalties should these fail to be met; costs that would be borne by Tasmanians, too many people commenting online and in social media just said: ‘build it!’

Such confidence and inflated optimism about a government-backed project that could well end up being a massive and extremely costly white elephant paid for by Tasmanian taxpayers. This lack of curiosity given the risk of pitfalls, cost blow-outs and over-runs was alarming, and it’s mystifying. But those expressing doubt and concern are shouted down and derided as the ‘anti-everything brigade’.

Opposition to the stadium certainly isn’t confined to the north, but a good deal of anger is certainly being felt by people there – and not only because of the potential loss of AFL matches likely to be played at Launceston’s UTAS stadium. The almost universal response from the 20 or so people I canvassed was anger at the amount of state – and federal – funding being provided for a stadium when Tasmania’s housing situation is in crisis, and our health, hospital and education systems are stretched to breaking point. Christine and Estelle’s comments sum up the opinions aired on social media by people who are furious about the proposal and who are vigorously opposed to it:

“The AFL has Tasmania in a headlock – no stadium, no team. . . it seems the AFL are clearly not invested in having a Tasmanian team and have cleverly set it up so that Tasmania foots the bill, or else.  . . . The attitude and terms are belittling and disrespectful to Tasmania. Rockliff should be embarrassed to be manipulated in this way – his desire for legacy has clouded his judgement.” – Christine

“We already have two perfectly good stadia here, particularly York Park which has the best playing surface for AFL in Australia and would be a much more accessible location from all parts of Tasmania. There are penalties if it’s not completed in time – when did anyone even build a family home on time? We so desperately need funding for the health sector, education and the dire homeless situation.”  – Estelle

The only survey to canvass Tasmanians’ opinion about the stadium that I’m aware of was conducted towards the end of last year. It showed nearly 70 per cent were opposed to the project. More recently a Change.org online petition has over 31,000 people who are opposed– making it one of the most well-supported petitions hosted by the organisation.

The final decision about the stadium – and therefore a team – now rests with our politicians. When parliament resumes in August both Houses will be voting on whether or not the stadium should be made a Project of State Significance. It’s likely all MPs are already dealing with piles of correspondence listing reasons that either support or oppose the stadium. From those I’ve spoken to the reasons against a new stadium far outweigh those that support it. But the overwhelming agreement is that a new stadium should never have been a requirement for Tasmania getting an AFL team in the first place.

© 2023 Anne Layton-Bennett

Anne Layton-Bennett is a published writer both in Australia and overseas in both print and online publications. She writes regularly for specialist magazine The Veterinarian, and co-edited: An Inspired Pursuit: 40 years of writing by women in northern Tasmania, (Karuda Press) 2002.

* Of the 14 AFL games with the highest attendances at York Park, only one has been in the last 10 years. Three Hawthorn games this year have seen total attendances of 30,000, or 10,000 average per game. In 2022 the total was 48,000 over four games, or 12,000 average per game. Prior seasons in 2021 and 2020 were interrupted by COVID-19 restrictions of various kinds.

ALAN WHYKES: A New Hobart Stadium? – Lost for Words.