Jeremy Rockliff and Dean Winter will debate various issues of concern to voters today. But there’s one massive, billion-dollar issue they won’t be debating because both leaders are in furious agreement on it – a new Hobart stadium.
Election debates are supposed to be where parties put forward their contrasting ideas for the future of our state and debate the best way forward. However when it comes to the biggest issue of the election, the Liberal and Labor leaders have exactly the same position, and say all the same things. It’s as extraordinary as it is disappointing.
The overwhelming majority of Tasmanians don’t support building a costly new stadium in Hobart. They recognise the budget is in a mess, essential services are seriously underfunded, and that paying for the stadium will mean job cuts and asset sales to pay for the project. Despite this, the Liberals and Labor are in lockstep supporting a dud development that would add $1.9 billion to the state’s debt over the next decade.
The major parties are completely out of touch with Tasmanians. While people can’t find a home and wait hours for ambulances, the Liberals and Labor are focussed on building a new stadium. Every day the Greens are hearing outrage from across the community about this – outrage that both men who are campaigning to be Premier have got their priorities so wrong.
If Liberal and Labor politicians were listening, they’d have ditched their plans for a new stadium long ago. They’d be focussing on what Tasmania really needs instead – like fixing hospitals and building homes. But they’re not listening. They’ve buried their heads in the sand.
The Liberal-Labor stadium unity ticket during the leader’s debate will be yet another reminder of why voting for either of the major parties won’t deliver the change Tasmania needs. To make that happen, we need the Greens in balance of power fighting to stop the stadium and to invest the money in health and housing instead.
