After two credit rating downgrades and devastating evidence from the Tasmanian Planning Commission assessment panel to Legislative Councillors this week, government desperation ahead of next week’s stadium vote is showing.
As a last-ditch bid to secure independent MLCs support and in a late Friday news dump, Minister Abetz released a ‘Governance, Oversight and Assurance Framework’ that provides zero reassurance the Rockliff Government can deliver this project on a heavily contaminated site without risks to public health, the degradation of heritage – including the Cenotaph – massive cost blowouts and further borrowings.
At Thursday’s hearing, the TPC’s former Panel members had no recollection of being told by the proponent the site contains up to 220 000 cubic metres, or tonnes, of contaminated soil containing asbestos, lead, mercury, arsenic, cyanide and other toxic chemicals. In Estimates, MPDC claimed the volume was about 130 000 cubic metres, but the EPA later confirmed the potential higher volume.
We also confirmed in Legislative Council estimates that the current cap on the Copping C-cell waste facility is 45 000 cubic metres a year. The maths isn’t promising. We’re talking here about poisonous soil having to be stored on site until it can be safely disposed of.
MPDC is operating to a four year old Environmental Management Plan, written for the previous mixed use redevelopment of the site. This, and the Corporation’s attempts to fudge the actual volume of contaminated soil – apparently to both the TPC and Estimates – does not instil faith that public health risks during construction can be managed safely.
Given the government’s terrible track record on infrastructure, how can the people of Hobart trust that the toxic soil being stored and transported on Macquarie Point won’t contaminate the air they breathe. In short, they can’t.
Former Treasury Secretary, Martin Wallace, told MLCs the compound interest on borrowings to build the stadium could be up to $80 million within 5 years. Those interest payments would be met by further borrowings. He described the prospect as, “A completely untenable situation’.
A comfortable majority of Tasmanians agree. MLCs inboxes are still being flooded with emails from worried people across the island. Overwhelmingly, they agree Tasmania cannot afford and does not need this stadium.
Now the Premier and Minister Abetz are in damage control. They cannot and should not be trusted.
