‘Stick it’: Senator shreds ‘dud’ AFL deal as damning report reveals Tassie stadium concerns

Jacqui Lambie has hit back at the AFL over a proposed Tasmanian stadium, telling them to “stick it”.

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The independent Tasmanian senator slammed the state government over the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium in Hobart, saying “it is not viable”.

“The state government needs to go and tell the AFL where to stick it right now and tell them it’s not going to play the game,” she said on Monday.

Economist Nicholas Gruen has warned the proposed stadium leaves “Tasmanians at risk of paying too much for too little,” generating just 44 cents of benefit for each dollar of cost.

He found the cost would be about $1380 for each Tasmanian, warned the “rushed process” was inadequate for a project of this scale and it was “already displaying the hallmarks of mismanagement”.

Senator Lambie called for the government to “tell AFL Australia that quite frankly the deal is a dud, and that’s it”.

“There is no reason why we can’t have a team in the AFL, it just won’t be at the beck and call of AFL Australia.”

Senator Lambie has proposed alternatives to the proposal, including a redesign dubbed “Mac Point 2.0” or the use of York Park in Launceston.

Dr Gruen’s damning independent report was commissioned by the Tasmanian government as part of an agreement with the Jacqui Lambie Network, which helped the Liberal Party form a minority government.

Dr Gruen recommended the Tasmanian government “negotiate with the AFL for a more realistic timeline” for the proposed stadium, develop “a proper plan” for how the project would fit into Hobart’s future and be wary of the true cost.

There are financial penalties in the contract with the league if the stadium is not ready for the 2029 season and with state government confirmation still required, getting the venue built on time and on budget appears extremely unlikely.

He found the projected cost for the stadium would balloon to more than $1bn, “significantly” more than the government’s $775m estimate.

In response, Tasmanian minister Eric Abetz thanked Dr Gruen for his work and told the ABC that the government would be moving ahead with the project.

“The choice isn’t between rushing ahead with a flawed plan or giving up on Tasmania’s AFL dream,” Dr Gruen wrote.

“Tasmania deserves an AFL team and must have it at the right cost but not at any cost.”