Media release – Felix Ellis, Minister for Racing, 12 October 2023
Update on new Devonport harness and greyhound track
The Rockliff Liberal Government is a strong supporter of the Tasmanian racing industry, which generates $185 million in economic activity and supports more than 5800 jobs across the state.
Tasracing has identified 27ha of private land opposite the Devonport Airport as its preferred location for a new north-west harness and greyhound racing track.
Minister for Racing, Felix Ellis, said that the Latrobe Council recently voted in favour of the North-West Track Development Application.
“The Tasracing Board has recently written to the Tasmanian Government indicating that the total cost of the north-west project has increased from the initial assessment of $18 million to $38.6 million,” Minister Ellis said.
“This request is being considered and we will work with Tasracing to understand the rationale behind the significant increase.
“This is an important piece of infrastructure for the north-west coast and the racing industry, but it is important that it is built for the right price, not just any price.
“Together with the Treasurer, I have written to Tasracing requesting substantive additional information to enable Government to make a fully informed decision in relation to this request.
“We will work with Tasracing on this matter, but I have made it clear that we need to see a lot more detail on this project around the business case, given the significant cost increase.”
Minister Ellis said the Tasmanian Government and Tasracing remain committed to ensuring harness and greyhound racing have a long future on the north-west coast, however, significant additional detail is required to justify expenditure in this range, including certainty for the revised estimates and anticipated timing.
Media release – Vica Bayley MP, Greens Infrastructure spokesperson, 12 October 2023
Racetrack Cost Blowout Casts More Doubt on Stadium Budget
The skyrocketing cost for the new Wesley Vale racetrack is not only a shocking waste of taxpayer funds on a cruel industry, but casts further doubt over the proposed Hobart stadium to be built on budget.
This racetrack has quickly gone from being an $18 million project to nearly $40 million. This amounts to a huge public subsidy for an industry that is responsible for frequent and systemic harm to animals, and comes on top of the tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds spent on racing each and every year.
Rather than propping up a cruel industry, we should be spending these many millions on the crucial needs of Tasmanians – housing, health, public transport, and addressing the cost of living. But seeing a project like this more than double in cost also raises much wider questions, especially for the Liberals’ unnecessary Hobart stadium.
This racetrack is latest in a long list of cost blowouts for construction we’ve seen in recent times. With sports precincts, hospitals, aquatic centres, and many other projects seeing massive budget overspends, how can the Liberals keep saying they can build a roofed stadium at Macquarie Point for $715 million?
Given Jeremy Rockliff has signed the Tasmanian people up to pay for every dollar of budget overrun on the stadium, it is crucial the public has a proper explanation of what this is going to cost. If the stadium cost blows out at the same rate as the Wesley Vale racetrack – a much simpler build – it will end up costing over $1.5 billion, with Tasmanian taxpayers directly fronting up over a billion dollars.
The Liberals’ Hobart stadium could come before Parliament as early as next week, and still there is no transparency on what it will really cost.
The Premier’s back of a napkin guesstimate for the stadium cost isn’t good enough. We need to see a current, detailed, and independent cost breakdown before the Parliament votes on whether this is a Project of State Significance.
