A stadium on Hobart’s waterfront has gained enough support to pass parliament, after key independents declared they would support the contentious project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Independents Tania Rattray, Bec Thomas, Dean Harriss and Casey Hiscutt confirmed their support during the debate, which is likely to continue into Thursday evening before a final vote.<\/p>\n
Ms Thomas was one of several uncommitted independents prior to Wednesday, but confirmed her support with a list of “safeguards” agreed to by the government.<\/p>\n
These included a $875 million cap on state government funding \u2014 the state’s current publicly-stated commitment \u2014 and that any blowouts would see the government seek more funds from the Commonwealth, AFL or private sector.<\/p>\n
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It could also require another vote in parliament to release further funds, or to have the stadium “reduce in scope” if further funding cannot be secured.<\/p>\n
Ms Thomas had to pause her speech briefly when she began to cry while speaking of the pressure that had been placed on upper house independents.<\/p>\n
“You can see the work that I have put in to try and make the best of a bad situation here, on the calculated assumption that this order would be supported regardless of my vote,” she said.<\/p>\n
Other safeguards agreed to by the government included a $105 million cap on state funding for the AFL high-performance centre at Hobart, and to spend an equal amount on community sporting infrastructure.<\/p>\n
It includes information to be released on life-cycle costs and ongoing government subsidies, six months after a main contractor is chosen \u2014 likely to be chosen towards the end of 2026.<\/p>\n
A means-tested affordable ticketing framework for vulnerable Tasmanians and those in regional areas is also included.<\/p>\n
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Ms Thomas said the government will be held to account by the project’s oversight committee and a parliamentary committee.<\/p>\n
“I think that is as binding as we can get,” she said.<\/p>\n
Roofed stadium key condition\u00a0for team<\/p>\n
The government is aiming to have the stadium complete for the 2029 AFL men’s season, with the Tasmania Devils to enter the competition in 2028.<\/p>\n
A stadium at Macquarie Point is included in the deal signed between the Tasmanian government and AFL; the Devils confirmed in parliament last month that the team would not go ahead without the stadium.<\/p>\n
The high-performance centre at Kingston received council approval this week.<\/p>\n
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A render of the proposed Macquarie Point stadium in Hobart, Tasmania. (Supplied: MPDC)<\/p>\n
Mr Hiscutt’s support \u2014 confirmed just after lunch on Wednesday \u2014 was the final vote the government needed for the stadium.<\/p>\n
He said he was satisfied with the safeguards.<\/p>\n
“Basically, if the budget blowout happens, parliamentarians will have another opportunity to say, no, we agreed to $1.13bn, not $2 billion or whatever it may be,” Mr Hiscutt said.<\/p>\n
“It is one more layer of protection that we have been able to achieve.”<\/p>\n
A graphic of the proposed Macquarie Point stadium showcasing the four entrance gates. (Supplied: MPDC)<\/p>\n
He said he recognised the significance of his decision.<\/p>\n
“My message to you all is be kind,” Ms Hiscutt said.<\/p>\n
“Accept the decision one way or the other; we do not need more division.”<\/p>\n
An anti-stadium rally and a pro-stadium rally were held in front of Parliament House in Hobart on consecutive weekends \u2014 the pro-stadium rally attracting a larger crowd.<\/p>\n
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Some of the crowd at the rally in support of the stadium in Hobart, November 30, 2025. (ABC News: Jessica Moran)<\/p>\n
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Images from the No Stadium rally, demostrating opposition to planned Macquarie Point stadium, held at Hobart Parliament Lawns, November 23, 2025. (ABC News: Jordan Young)<\/p>\n
The Tasmanian government earlier committed to cap its spending at $375 million, but this grew to include $490 million in borrowing after it chose not to pursue private investment.<\/p>\n
The Commonwealth has committed $240 million to the broader precinct, and the AFL is providing $15 million.<\/p>\n
Promise on taxes gets MLC over the line<\/p>\n
Independent Dean Harriss had not confirmed his position on the stadium until he spoke during the debate on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
He had sought commitments from the government on November 30 regarding budget repair, mindful that Tasmania is on track for more than $10 billion in net debt in four years.<\/p>\n
Mr Harriss told parliament he needed a promise from the government that it was “fair dinkum” on addressing the state’s finances, including considering tax increases before he would support the stadium.<\/p>\n
“The government has confirmed that in addition to the need to rein in spending, budget repair will require an increase in own-source revenue,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Harriss interpreted this as increased taxes.<\/p>\n
The letter outlines that net borrowings for government businesses would be reduced by $500 million over three years, while borrowings for the stadium increase by $490 million.<\/p>\n
Government businesses include Homes Tasmania, Hydro Tasmania and other government-business enterprises.<\/p>\n
As a result of the letter, Mr Harriss confirmed his support for the stadium.<\/p>\n
At the start of his speech, he spoke emotionally about his father, the late Paul Harriss, a former independent and Liberal MP in Tasmanian Parliament.<\/p>\n
“It’s been suggested by some people via social media and through phone calls that my father would be turning in his grave if he knew I might not be supporting the stadium,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Having spent considerable time with dad over many years, and knowing him better than most, I can assure those people he wouldn’t be turning in his grave, in fact he would expect me to do precisely what I was elected to do.<\/p>\n
“Review, scrutinise, and provide checks and balances on government proposals without fear or favour.”<\/p>\n
The approval will essentially be the end of the ‘project of state significance process’; the parliament was voting on an order that came out of that process.<\/p>\n
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Independent MLC Tania Rattray said she has supported the stadium project since 2023. (Supplied: Parliament of Tasmania)<\/p>\n
It included a report by a Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC) panel, which recommended against its approval on a range of grounds.<\/p>\n
This included a cost-benefit ratio of 0.45 \u2014 for every $1 spent, it would generate 45 cents \u2014 and an argument that city planning problems were insurmountable.<\/p>\n
The government chose not to agree with the panel’s recommendation, arguing that some were matters of “opinion and choice” and that there are “unquantifiable” economic benefits.<\/p>\n
The stadium was also not the first proposal for Macquarie Point; a master plan had been approved, which included an Aboriginal truth and reconciliation park and housing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Meg Webb and Cassy O’Connor in chamber during stadium debate. (ABC News: Mackenzie Heard)<\/p>\n
The government had to pay out on contracts for the housing, while consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders abruptly ended when the proposed stadium arrived in 2022.<\/p>\n
The stadium now includes an “Aboriginal culturally-informed zone” alongside a highway, reduced in size to make way for practice cricket wickets and a relocated heritage goods shed, and now the emergency assembly site.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Independent MLC Ruth Forrest became emotional when discussing the impact the stadium will have on the nearby Hobart Cenotaph. (ABC News: Mackenzie Heard)<\/p>\n
Greens MLC Cassy O’Connor said opponents were not against development.<\/p>\n
“I reject assertions by a number of honourable members that people who are opposed to this stadium are ‘anti-everything’,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We are pro the development of Macquarie Point, under the previous heavily consulted master plan, a genuine place for people 365 days a year.”<\/p>\n
A final vote is not expected until later on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The upper house earlier voted to go through the stadium ‘order’ section by section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A vote to approve a roofed stadium near the Hobart waterfront will pass Tasmania’s parliament after enough independents…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,162256,740,162257,12804,49816,49815,9801,85,8824,2801,53432,182678],"class_list":["post-325165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-bec-thomas","tag-cricket","tag-dean-harriss","tag-hobart","tag-hobart-stadium","tag-macquarie-point-stadium","tag-parliament","tag-sports","tag-stadium","tag-tasmania","tag-tasmania-devils","tag-vote-on-stadium"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}