Tasmania’s economy has slowed. 5,000 jobs have been lost since Jeremy Rockliff lost majority government. Building companies are going bust. There are no major infrastructure projects scheduled to come online once the Bridgewater Bridge is finished.
A stadium will mean thousands of jobs in construction, including hundreds of apprenticeships.
That’s why Labor will be backing a new stadium.
Labor’s support doesn’t mean the Premier will be let off the hook for the promises he has made – far from it. He needs to deliver his capped spend of $375m, with private investors to cover any shortfall.
While we will not be standing in the way of the current Macquarie Point stadium proposal, we still hold concerns around the deliverability of the project. The Premier should not rule out the Stadium 2.0 project.
Labor has changed. Under my leadership, the Labor Party stands for safe, secure, well-paid jobs. That means we will support projects with the potential to create thousands of new jobs – including a new stadium.
Dean Winter MP
Tasmanian Labor Leader