Seated among a packed house at the UTAS Sir Stanley Burbury Theatre last Wednesday night, my partner and I were treated to a dispiriting hour of graphs, charts, comparisons and treasury projections contained within a scathing, no-holds-barred reveal of Tasmania’s financial state by the government’s favoured economic advisor, Saul Eslake.
Under the huge widescreen title TASMANIA’S DEBT DILEMMA, it was clear by the head-turning gasps within the room that the audience was completely and utterly gobsmacked by the parlous level of debt Tasmania has accrued over the past decade under the current government. As though to release the pent-up incredulity of the gathering, the theatre finally erupted in applause to a woman questioning the need for a billion-dollar roofed stadium. A nearby attendee barked, “The Emperor has no clothes!”
Not in a mood to mince words, Saul Eslake calmly unleashed his anger. *
“It sticks in my craw that we are expected to do something that no other state was expected to do. No one asked South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland or New South Wales to build a stadium to host just one team – because they all have at least two – yet no one has ever asked them to have a roofed stadium.
“I have a suspicion that says the AFL was making demands they thought Tasmania would say “no” to, so that they could turn around and say, “see you’re really not serious”. But, to their surprise, the premier kept saying “yes”.
“The AFL has Tasmania in the same position that Donald Trump has Canada or Ukraine – we don’t have any cards – if we don’t give them what they’re demanding, we don’t get the team.
I’m also very sad that something that should have been a unifying thing for Tasmania has instead become a source of social division.”
Louder applause ensued.
As Eslake demonstrated, it’s very easy for a government to reassure the average busy Tasmanian with fairytales of investment returns and tourism projections, and with that old campaign chestnut, ‘jobs’, ‘jobs’, ‘jobs’.
But the reality is, many of those same jobs would be created by any responsible development at Macquarie Point.
And to highlight the government’s realisation of the spiralling costs of our Premier’s vanity-project (my words) suddenly – buoyed by the Trump/Musk oligarchy – he’s now flagging an ‘Efficiency and Productivity Unit’ to sell-off valuable state assets to pay for the money-pit he’s dug for his himself – and for us.
Another woman yelled, “Join the dots, Tasmania!”
Neither Rockliff, nor anyone else, would ever have dared to wave these white-flag selloffs just a few months ago, but suddenly, here we are in Elon’s new world of fiscal possibilities.
We were not the only members of an engaged audience to see the parallels between Saul Eslake’s warnings and his referencing the mismanagement revealed within the 170 pages of a government-commissioned document – Dr Nicholas Gruen’s Report – a scathing assessment of the proposed stadium.
This report found the costs are: “significantly understated”, benefits “overstated”, and the projected $775 million price tag is unrealistic” ($1.1 billion he asserts) and, “The site selection analysis released was hasty and partial and gives the strong impression of being crafted to support conclusions already made.”
Showing contempt for all, the Premier’s Office took little time to respond to the report: “The Rockliff government has thanked Dr Gruen for his work but will be moving ahead with the project.”
This damning assessment of the stadium, commissioned by the government in the hope of appeasing the ‘blockers and naysayers’ has been summarily dismissed … “Shoot the messenger!” We all thought.
Anecdotal it may be, but I suspect if this broad cross-section of Tasmanians – those interested enough to attend the UTAS lecture – had been asked their opinion on Saul Eslake’s suspicions regarding the AFL’s demands and the Premier’s heroic procurement process – judging by the reactions – if given the opportunity, the vast majority would have voted it a ‘Project of State Subservience’.
So, should this sample Tasmanian voice be heard?
We, and thousands of other silenced Tasmanians say, absolutely it should. As the most respected economist and the government’s preferred go-to advisor, Saul Eslake’s words – “I’m very sad that something that should have been a unifying thing for Tasmania has instead become a source of social division.” – must be acted upon.
As a retired architect, I settled in the beautiful, human-scale city of Hobart at a time when Tasmania – in line with all other states – maintained the services of a State Government Architect (SGA). Like all other capital cities in the country, the Government Architect’s Office serves, among other duties, as a first port-of-call – a qualified resource – and as a final-filter for the approval of major civil and civic projects.
But few of us remember Jeremy Rockliff convincing the Tasmanian parliament to abandon the SGA, citing the office’s $330k per year scrutiny as an extravagance.
His assertion in Hansard reads,
“There is no better time to abolish this position. It’s a luxury that the State Government can no longer afford. This is not an essential service. Essential services are particularly those social services at the frontline of our education and health systems.” (ABC, January 12, 2012).
Yes, of course, that “luxury we can no longer afford” would have been an impediment to the Premier’s unsolicited signing-away of Tasmania’s pound of flesh to a Melbourne football salesman who is now CEO of a gaming empire, Tabcorp.
For just a miniscule fraction of the tens of millions spent so far on the above-referenced source of social division and the $37 million consultancy fee promised to the AFL-recommended Cox Architects Melbourne (we’re sure we can make it fit), Tasmania could resolve this festering sore once and for all by conducting a referendum asking:
- Do you agree Tasmania needs a roofed stadium in exchange for a licence to enter the Australian Football League (AFL)?
- If yes. Would you prefer this roofed stadium to be located at Macquarie Point, Hobart or York Park, Launceston?
*(Saul Eslake ‘Tasmania’s Debt Dilemma’ – UTAS, March 12).
Mark B Pooley is a retired architect living in Hobart.
