Today it has been confirmed that the price Tasmanians will pay for Jeremy Rockliff’s stadium at Macquarie Point has effectively doubled due to the Premier’s incompetence.
As reported in the Advocate, there will be no GST exemption for the federal government contribution towards Macquarie Point.
No GST exemption means Tasmanian taxpayers will pay for all bar around $20 million for the stadium. The cost is likely to be well over $1 billion at a time where Tasmania’s net debt position is scheduled to hit record levels.
The time to negotiate a GST exemption for the $240 million Macquarie Point precinct was when the deal was being negotiated. The reason an exemption was not in the deal was because Jeremy Rockliff did not ask for one. It is that simple.
A serious government uses Cabinet to scrutinise deals like this. A serious government uses agencies like Treasury to get the right advice at the right time. However, the deals with the Australian Government and the AFL were never subject to a Cabinet process and nor was any Treasury advice received.
This entire deal has been a stuff up. Jeremy Rockliff could not risk taking his deal through a Cabinet process because Michael Ferguson and his supporters would never have agreed to it.
The letter to the Australian Government was only sent following a question from the Opposition in question time weeks after the deal had been agreed.
The process perfectly sums up this incompetent, shambolic minority Liberal Government.
Dean Winter MP
Shadow Minister for Economic Development
