Dr WOODRUFF (Franklin – Leader of the Greens) – Honourable Speaker, I rise to respond to comments that the honourable Mr Willie, Leader of the Opposition, made in this place during my budget reply speech earlier today. He took issue with the following statement I made:
The Leader of the Opposition has said time and again since Labor backflipped on its opposition to a stadium, they’ll give the stadium unconditional support and back it whatever the cost.
I was asked to withdraw but I rise to provide the facts that speak for themselves.
At a press conference Mr Willie held on 2 April this year, he was asked by Elliot from WIN News:
When you say he, the premier, needs to come to parliament, are you saying that they need to correct some of the challenges that have been outlined by the Planning Commission to retain Labor support?
Mr Willie said:
No, we will support a stadium through the parliament because that is what is required to deliver these teams.
David Killick from the Mercury asked:
There are problems, they need to fix the problems, but if they don’t fix the problems, Labor’s still going to vote for the stadium. That’s the decision?
Mr Willie said:
Yes, we will be supporting the stadium through the parliament. There’s no question about that.
David Killick from the Mercury also asked:
So, the stadium is more important than good governance. It’s more important than not running up a massive debt. It’s more important than the environmental restrictions, than the traffic problems. There’s nothing that can happen with this project that can go wrong that will cause you to waver in your support for it?
Mr Willie said:
I’ve said in the past, good governance matters whether you support the stadium or you don’t. Good governance matters. We can’t build this project for premier Rockliff from opposition. His track record in terms of Devonport is on the public record and Tasmanians have been disappointed by that. We need to see him do better. We need to see him come to parliament and explain how he’s going to deliver on his promises for Tasmanians and how he’s going to address some of the concerns of the Planning Commission, but we will support the stadium through the parliament.
Honourable Speaker, Labor’s support was reported throughout media outlets then and since as unconditional and as a blank cheque for the stadium because it is.
It was honestly hard to listen to Mr Willie struggle through that train wreck interview, but the message from him was very clear throughout: Labor’s support for the stadium is unconditional. It’s something of a Tasmanian Labor tradition that there were some wobbles they had during the election where, for a few days, Tasmanians weren’t exactly clear where they stood, but soon enough they reiterated their unconditional support for the stadium, reassuring voters that for the most unpopular project of a generation, Labor held exactly the same position as the government.
We hoped there was a chance to change with the change of leader, but after Mr Willie muscled his way into being Opposition Leader, against the will of most of his colleagues, I might add, he reiterated that support. Today, we have Mr Willie trying to pretend that Labor has not offered unconditional support while, at the same time, making it clear that they will be voting for the project, no matter what. It makes my head spin.
Mr Willie accused me of making things up when he’s the one who’s doing it. Mr Willie was continuing his dishonesty on ABC Mornings recently. On 21 October he said, ‘The Greens have been a hard no the whole time, and their vote hasn’t improved either.’ In fact, that’s completely false. The Greens vote did go up at the last election. It grew statewide and it grew significantly in four out of five electorates. The only place it didn’t was in my own seat of Franklin, where all the election analysts have agreed the arrival of a new high‑profile, high‑spending, anti‑stadium Independent put a dent in our vote. In fact, the Greens are the only party that has seen our vote grow at both the 2024 and the 2025 elections ‑ elections where the stadium has been an issue.
It is Mr Willie who needs to get his facts straight. The Opposition Leader took offence this morning at the truth, when what is offensive is the truth that Labor is backing this stadium and its budget black hole no matter what. I challenge the Leader of the Opposition: if I am wrong, stand up here today and give us one single issue that would stop Labor supporting the stadium. Tell us what a spending cap would be for you. If you can’t, Mr Willie, or if you won’t, maybe it’s time you gave up time-wasting points of order and your faux concern.
