Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand here today as a proud foundation member of the Tasmania Football Club and very proud to wear the badge of that football club on my lapel. I would like to lend my congratulations to Grant O'Brien and his team on the board for such a successful launch last week. All things in my office stopped last week at 6 pm to watch the launch of the club and the launch of the foundation membership, which at the price of $10 is pretty good deal, although I did option up and go for the $15 version and got all four stickers. I'm a big spender! Mind you, there are 10 other members of my household who also have memberships, unlike so many others, but there are now close to 170,000 people who have joined the club. I think that's an extraordinary signal of how important people around this country—and 46 other nations, I might add—see Tasmania's entry into the AFL.

Now it's important for us to do all the things to ensure that our team has the best possible chance and facilities to be successful. I want to liken where the AFL club is today to the JackJumpers, Tasmania's new third-year team in the National Basketball League. They play tomorrow night in the third game of the series for the championship. We clearly wish them all the best. There was controversy when there was money spent on their new stadium in Hobart, and today you can't get a ticket. So I would urge Tasmanians to back Tassie, to back the team and to back support for the new facilities.