Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to make a contribution to this debate to give context to some of the things I have said publicly in Tasmania on this issue. It is something I feel strongly about, and I don't resile from anything I've said. I, with Senator Brown and Senator Lambie, and I suspect others in this debate, support Tasmania getting a team. We deserve it. We have a fine AFL history. We've provided some of the best players in the AFL's history over many years, and that's something we could continue to do with a team of our own, and with an AFLW team.

I don't agree with the idea of the federal government funding a stadium, but I'm not going to let Senator Brown and the Australian Labor Party off the hook that easily. You can't come in and say that the Premier of Tasmania, Mr Rockliff, isn't listening and then say that you haven't made your minds up yet. The Australian government has to actually put a decision on record at some point. I look forward to the day that that happens, and going out and listening to the community is a good start to do that.

I do want to make a couple of points around the stadium and the Tasmanian government. Any day of the week I'd back Premier Rockliff over opposition leader White, because the Tasmanian Labor Party can't even come up with a position. They've got to go and have a taxpayer funded referendum to figure out whether they support the stadium! They want to spend taxpayers' money to figure out what position they should have to fund a stadium with taxpayers' money. I tell you what, at least I know where I stand. Premier Rockliff knows where he stands. The Labor Party, federally and at a state level, don't know where they stand.

I'll go back to a point that Senator Brown made which I do agree with. I know Senator Brown is a fine Tasmanian who actually does have her state's interests at heart—I know that very clearly—along with her Tasmanian colleagues. The AFL should take note: they should not treat Tasmanians as mugs. They landed an historic deal for broadcast rights—$4.5 billion. It's historic—self-described, private money. Why aren't they putting any of that into the construction of a stadium. Why aren't they being asked to fund this arrangement that would enable us to get a team? If it's so important to them, to the club presidents, for us to have a team, why don't they do something about it? Instead of asking the taxpayers of Tasmania to foot the bill—