Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, has today sent the following letter to the Prime Minister expressing his concern that the Tasmanian Government intends to breach the Deed of Agreement between it and the Commonwealth for the $240 million in funding for the Macquarie Point urban redevelopment.
The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dear Prime Minister
I am writing to advise you that the Tasmanian Government intends to breach the Deed of Agreement between it and the Commonwealth for the $240 million in funding for the Macquarie Point urban redevelopment.
As you would be aware, the Deed explicitly requires the federal funding to be invested in a range ofurban renewal projects. This was echoed in comments by the Hon Julie Collins MP when she remarked that the funding is “about the broader precinct at Macquarie Point…which includes affordable housing and includes upgrades to the wharves to ensure Hobart remains the gateway to the Antarctic. This is an entire precinct plan…” (Mercury, 18 June 2025).
However, the final report of the Tasmanian Planning Commission inquiry into the proposed Macquarie Point AFL stadium, released this week, finds the stadium will “not support or promote integrated urban renewal of the Mac Point Site” (p57), “does nothing to support the delivery of housing as envisaged by the precinct plan…” (p58), and that the “…limited remaining land on the Mac Point Site mean that the objectives of many other elements of the Precinct Plan are either significantly compromised or unachievable …” (p59).
In other words the Tasmanian Government intends to knowingly breach its agreement with the Federal Government. Not only would that be an appalling failure of governance, it would also oblige the Federal Government to cancel the agreement and withdraw the funding. That would leave the State Government to borrow an additional $240 million to build its unnecessary and unpopular stadium, and more importantly mean that the community misses out on a very welcome federal cash injection to fund the alternative potential of the site.
Yours sincerely
Andrew Wilkie MP
Independent Member for Clark
18 September 2025
Media release – Our Place – Hobart, 18 September 2025
Our Place supports Wilkie letter to PM Albanese
Leading anti-stadium group Our Place – Hobart has backed in Clark MHA Andrew Wilkie’s letter to the Prime Minister, saying the now invalid Federal government grant of $240 million would be far better spent on social housing at the Macquarie Point site.
“The Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC) report released yesterday made clear that the stadium proposal no longer meets the Federal government’s criteria for its $240 million grant,” said spokesperson Roland Browne.
“That means other than the pathetic $15 million the AFL are giving, Tasmanian taxpayers are on the hook for the entirety of the now, according to the TPC, $1.8 billion dollar stadium. That’s on top of any risk in cost overruns and revenue shortfalls.”
‘That money should go to building 1,000 new homes for Tasmanians on Macquarie Point—the vision Our Place outlined in detail in 2023 showed just how this could be achieved in a way that created jobs, long term economic activity 365 days a year and not just seven, along with cafes, restaurants, offices and a major inner city public transport hub.”
“This would help solve Tasmania’s existing problems rather than create new ones as the stadium will.”
“The Premier says the stadium will drive future economic activity—but then only last year he was saying it wouldn’t cost the Tasmanian tax payer ‘one red cent more’ than $375 million. Now its $1.8 billion and, according to the TPC, that massive debt can only be paid for by increased taxation of all Tasmanians.
No wonder the Premier dismisses the report of his own government body.”
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