Dr WOODRUFF (Franklin – Leader of the Greens) – Honourable Speaker, I seek leave to move a motion to seek leave without notice for the purpose of moving a suspension of Standing Orders to debate the following motion. I move –
That the House has no confidence in the Premier on the following grounds:
(1) On the first day of the 2024 State Election campaign, Jeremy Rockliff announced a central promise to the Tasmanian people. When it came to government funding for the stadium, he said on 7 Tasmania Nightly News, 15 February 2024 his “clear commitment is that the 375 million dollars will be invested and not one red cent more.”
(2) This promise was made due to the unpopularity of the stadium with voters, with senior Liberal party campaign figure, Brad Stansfield, describing it as “the biggest pile of stinking poo in the state, politically… We spent the entire campaign variously trying to polish that turd, or to cover it up and disguise”; “the biggest single drag on the Liberal campaign”; and “the main issue in this campaign” during the FontCast on 26 March 2024.
(3) Without this promise Jeremy Rockliff’s chances of being re-elected as Premier would have been significantly reduced, and that he may not have been able to form government.
(4) This promise is therefore fundamental to Jeremy Rockliff’s position as Premier.
(5) In making this promise, Jeremy Rockliff has no evidence to suggest that it would be possible to achieve it – let alone any basis for making a guarantee – and was intentionally, cynically and dishonestly seeking electoral advantage.
(6) The Premier has continued to repeat this promise without basis on dozens of occasions in Parliament including:
(a) Stating on 22 May 2024 “We have capped at $375 million. Not a red cent more, if that is the right terminology, will be spent and invested into the stadium. We made that very clear at the beginning of the election campaign.”
(b) Stating on 19 September 2024 “We are investing $375 million in this project and not one red cent more.”
(c) Stating during House of Assembly Budget Estimates, on 23 September 2024 “We will be investing $375 million and the rest will be coming from private resources.”
(d) Stating during Legislative Council Budget Estimates, 24 September 2024 “We will be investing $375 million, Ms O’Connor. Happy to be held account to that when the time comes. The other aspects of course, we expect private investment in the Macquarie Point precinct and stadium. Can I assure you that we have drawn a line in the sand. It will be $375 million which we will invest once.”
(e) On at least 15 further occasions in 2024 Budget Estimates for the House of Assembly and Legislative Council.
(7) The Premier has now abandoned his pretence of seeking private investment for the stadium.
(8) Other than a small contribution from the AFL and $240 million from the Federal Government, Tasmanians will now bear the entire cost of building the stadium, including all cost overruns.
(9) The Premier has broken the promise that secured his election – a cost cap of $375 million for the stadium.
(10) The Premier has spent over a year misleading Tasmanians and the Parliament about the stadium cost cap, having repeated this claim without any evidence that it could or would be achieved.
(11) The Premier:
(f) Lied to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people and treated them with contempt by promising a Reconciliation Park at Macquarie Point and using the Mercury newspaper to announce a stadium for the site instead.
(g) Lied to Tasmanians when he said the stadium would not be a condition of the AFL team deal.
(12) The Premier is in clear breach of the Standing Orders and has flouted the Ministerial Code of Conduct by being dishonest and misleading with Tasmanians.
(13) In breaking such a fundamental promise to the Tasmanian people, Jeremy Rockliff’s integrity is in tatters, he cannot be trusted, and his position as Premier is untenable.
Honourable Speaker, if this seeking of leave is granted, we intend to lay out our debate in a substantive way, but at the heart of this matter, what we are looking at here is the Premier being dishonest with the Tasmanians from the very beginning in order to achieve his position at the election when he knew that two thirds of Tasmanians, the overwhelming majority of Tasmanians at the time, hated the idea of the stadium and the cost it would bring down on us.
He has repeatedly been dishonest; he has deceived and lied to Tasmanians at every opportunity for scrutiny that has been afforded to us as members of the Greens and also other members of parliament who have asked questions. He has been dishonest in the media and under scrutiny, and now he has revealed to Tasmanians that there will be no private‑private partnership. Tasmanians will bear the full cost.
We have no confidence in the Premier and we wanted the chance to lay this out.
