Tasmanian Government aims to bypass state planning system to fast track stadium for Tasmanian Devils
The Tasmanian Government has made the dramatic move to bypass the state’s planning system in an effort to have the proposed roofed Macquarie Point Stadium approved after an interim report threw doubt on the project’s costs.
The decision is sure to cause ire among opponents of the stadium, which is essential to the state’s dream of fielding the Tassie Devils in the AFL.
Supplied images project what the proposed AFL stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart, Tasmania, will look like.
Under the bespoke legislation, Parliament will still have to approve the stadium, but they will not have to wait for the Tasmanian Planning Commission’s final report on what had been declared a Project of State Significance.
The latest report, delivered two weeks ago, suggested the stadium faced cost blowouts and ongoing costs for Tasmanians, although advocates for the stadium – who asked to remain anonymous due to the political nature of the project – argued the report went beyond its scope.
In a presentation to AFL club chiefs on Friday in Adelaide, Tassie Devils chief executive officer Brendon Gale said that vote was expected in September.
However, the latest move by Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff could see a vote held by the middle of the year.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Before this move, the stadium had bipartisan support and only needed the support of two independents in the state’s upper house to be approved.
The AFL has been uncompromising on its demand for a stadium to be built after reaching agreement with the state government that it would be built at Macquarie Point in Hobart.
