The Premier and his ministers have always argued there’s no possibility of reworking Tasmania’s licence deal with the AFL. Until last night, that is.
During an ABC radio debate on the stadium, Minister Eric Abetz opened the door to renegotiating the contract.
Asked about the possibility of the deal being renegotiated, Minister Abetz said: “Well, you never say never.”
This is a huge change in position for the Liberals. It shows overwhelming community opposition to the stadium is starting to rattle even the project’s strongest supporters.
It seems at least some Liberal politicians didn’t enjoy the party being flogged in Tasmania at the recent federal election, or in EMRS polling this week, seeing support for their party hitting a 20 year low because of the stadium.
The AFL deal shafts Tasmania and its people. It makes demands of us what no other team entering the league has had to deliver, a multi-billion dollar stadium in return for the team we’ve earned and deserve. That’s why the Greens yesterday wrote to the AFL, urging them to agree to a fairer deal.
No matter what the government says next about the AFL deal, the cat is out of the bag. The Minister has admitted that renegotiating the deal is possible – if the government chose to do so.
With Minister Abetz conceding the AFL deal can indeed be renegotiated, we are calling on politicians from across the spectrum to get on board with the push to get a better outcome for Tasmania. Labor, particularly, needs to step up and do its job.
Let’s come together to say, “yes team, no new stadium”, and let’s tell the AFL to give us a fair go.
