Another massive stadium spending bill has been revealed – before construction on the project has even begun. Given the Liberals’ history of stadium cost blowouts, we know the unnecessary spending won’t stop here.
The Liberal Government spent $3.3 million of public money on mainland lawyers to inform its position and strategy of engagement with the Tasmanian Planning Commission’s independent assessment of the stadium project. It’s a simply astonishing amount that delivered a spectacular fail, with the Commission unequivocally concluding that the project ‘should not proceed’.
It’s more unnecessary and extreme spending on the stadium project that is a sign of things to come. After repeated cost blowouts and a broken spending cap promise by the Premier, the Liberals now claim the stadium will cost just over a billion dollars. But with prices going up and the Liberals’ poor history of managing major projects, Tasmanians know the stadium costs won’t stop there.
As the stadium circus moves into the negotiation phase with multi-national construction companies, this legal bill begs the question – how much is budgeted for legal fees to inform the contract negotiations and will this be made public?
Even with their expensive lawyers, the Liberals still couldn’t convince the Planning Commission the stadium should be built. It speaks volumes to just how flawed this project is. The Planning Commission was really clear – this stadium will do more harm than good for this state.
At a time when many Tasmanians cannot afford the basics, the Liberals’ large stadium legal bill shows just how warped their spending priorities are. The Liberal Government should be helping struggling Tasmanians instead of continuing unnecessary and unaffordable stadium spending.
