Tasmania’s Macquarie Point stadium has 23,000 fans lobbying for it

ENG RAHAMAN

2 weeks ago

On Saturday, roughly 75,000 people will vote in Tasmania’s Legislative Council elections for just three of the state’s 15 upper house seats: Montgomery in the north-west, and Nelson and Pembroke in suburban Hobart.

It’s a do-or-die moment for the almost 23,000 members of the “YES AFL TEAM — YES STADIUM” Facebook group, a community now operating as a grassroots political lobbying group. Think of them like a “Voices of” movement with a single interest: footy.

Two weeks ago, the group was given an incredible moment of leverage by Premier Jeremy Rockliff. He will put forward special legislation on the extensively debated Macquarie Point Stadium proposal, a prerequisite set by the AFL for having a Tassie team in the league. This would exempt it from the scrutiny of the state planning commission, to which all projects of this size are subjected. Rockliff says it is a final ultimatum. The fate of the legislation seals the fate of the stadium.

It will pass the House of Assembly with no problems, with both the Liberals and Labor in support. But in the upper house, the major parties are outnumbered by an eight-seat crossbench (one Green, seven independents) and will need to convince at least two to support the legislation.

The job would be a little easier if one of those independent crossbenchers was replaced by a Labor, Liberal or pro-stadium MP. Nelson indie Meg Webb is up for reelection this weekend, and the legislation won’t be put to parliament until at least June.

Can these 23,000 footy lovers prove influential enough to dictate between $375 million and $1 billion in state expenditure (depending on who you ask) for the love of the game?

Unlikely influence

Mark Brown, the man who started the group, tells me that before all this, he “couldn’t give two hoots about politics”. But he certainly understands the political opportunity these Legislative Council elections represent.

“The legislation is a tactical move. I’m hoping the group has a big bearing on the outcome, because if we don’t change a few people from within the Legislative Council, there is a strong possibility the vote may not go in our favour,” he said.

Speaking to Brown, it’s clear he’s spent a lot of time poring over the various stadium proposals. He quotes figures off the top of his head and cites the reports they come from. He’s thinking strategically about how to get what he wants, which he also firmly believes is best for the state.

Despite polls indicating that stadium supporters are in the minority, the group has been lobbying in astute ways. Brown scoffs at the Greens’ e-petition asking the Rockliff government to renegotiate with the AFL; it was submitted mid-April and currently only has 5,000 signatures. Thousands attended a recent rally to protest against the stadium, including Senator Jacqui Lambie, but Brown says, “We don’t need our own rallies.”

And why would they? Through his lobbying, he’s built “a rapport” with the premier and strong connections with several politicians and their staffers. He’s in touch with the Tasmanian Football Club chair Grant O’Brien and general manager Kathryn McCann, and was personally invited by the club to attend the official launch in May. Facebook group members have been diligently contacting state MPs and candidates to make their case for the stadium.

“I’m pretty certain [independent member] Bec Thomas is on board, and I think Dean Harris as well, which gives us I think enough in the upper house. But if we can get Marcus [Vermey, Liberal candidate for Nelson] in and Meg Webb out, you know, that’s a huge bonus.”

An ‘expensive thought bubble’

Webb was first elected in 2019 and is the type of independent who Climate 200 would happily support. She wants more transparency and integrity in politics, gender equality, action on climate and gambling. Webb is also against what she calls the state government’s “expensive thought bubble” to put an AFL stadium “on Hobart’s invaluable waterfront”. She officially supports a Tasmanian team, but not one contingent on an expensive infrastructure demand by the AFL.

In a statement, Webb says pro-stadium voters who have written or spoken to her have mostly been respectful.

“Unfortunately, the online environment is a different kettle of fish, and I am aware over the last few years of vilification and trolling, particularly of those raising reasonable concerns over the controversial stadium project. There is always room for different opinions and civil debate, but personal attacks and abuse online are unacceptable and must be condemned, rather than encouraged, by political leaders.”

She reiterates that, while it’s a controversial issue, the stadium is “one of many pressing issues which will determine how people vote”.

Bec Thomas, the indie for Elwick who is not up for reelection this weekend, was one of four panellists on ABC Hobart’s stadium public forum held on Wednesday night, introduced by host Leon Compton as “The Decider”. She, like almost everyone outside the “pro-stadium” camp, is most concerned about costs and sounds more sceptical than Brown might like to admit.

“If I’m making a decision with my heart, Tasmania deserves to have a team,” Thomas tells the forum attendees. “However, we’re not elected to make decisions just with our hearts. Weighing up both the economic impacts on future generations to come and the planning legitimacy of the stadium at Macquarie Point are the two key things I need to be convinced about.” Any legislation that does not come with a clear picture of the upfront investment, ongoing costs and an answer on whether cricket can be played (Cricket Tasmania has an issue with the roof design) won’t have her support.

Eric Abetz, the minister for business, industry, resources and transport, deflected from the questions, instead rattling off his preferred talking points. This riled the attendees, and he snapped back at them in return.

Panellist Mat Hinds, an award-wining architect who gave evidence to the public accounts committee, closed the debate with cutting remarks: “[The AFL] have asked us to climb a hill that is so steep, each individual person in this room pays an order of magnitude 10 times more than any other taxpayer has paid for AFL infrastructure. The Docklands stadium, when it was built — paid for by the public purse — cost nearly $1 billion. The AFL bought that for $200 million in 2016 … Well, it’s difficult here, it’s hard. There’s only 500,000 of us, not 5 million.”

Restlessness and confused politics

The lack of progress is making the Facebook group members restless, creating tension in the increasingly confusing political posts. There is now what appears to be a reciprocal relationship with the Liberal Party, with Liberal MPs, including Rockliff, often posting and sharing posts from their public pages into the group for comments of support and positive engagement.

Despite federal Labor supporting the stadium from the outset and the state party under Dean Winter now also on board, deep-seated mistrust for Labor remains from the 2024 state election. Often members will criticise Labor politicians, having forgotten they are now technically on the same side.

During the federal election, there were disagreements about whether it was right to vote for Rebecca White in Lyons, who did not support the stadium while leading Tasmania Labor. Comment threads about One Nation Senate candidate Lee Hanson showed less of a concern about the party’s ideology than Hanson’s stadium stance. The group are no fans of independent Andrew Wilkie, whose Clark electorate covers the proposed stadium site in Hobart and does not believe it is responsible economic decision-making.

Brown has been trying to shepherd the political agitation and keep members focused on productive discussions about state and local politics, where they can be most influential. If he succeeds, he will have poured uncountable hours into building public support for a project that will financially benefit the AFL and be a success that Tas Liberals will dine out on for decades. He’ll be happy.

But if the dream ultimately proves too expensive for the Legislative Council?

“To come so far and to be, you know, basically thrown over the edge would be hard. I haven’t thought too much ahead, of it not passing, but I know that I’ll be devastated because I’ve fought … I had to take a break last year because I was highly targeted and it was all getting to me,” Brown admitted.

If the legislation fails, it may just take the ‘YES AFL TEAM — YES STADIUM’ group down with it.