The AFL’s grand plan to have a 19th team based in Tasmania has been met with some opposition amid the state’s current rental and housing crisis, with the opposition coming from Tasmanians themselves.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday announced a $240 million funding package that will see a new stadium built at Macquarie Point for the new team to play in.
However, the prime minister was met with protesters when making the announcement, with one asking, “what are we going to do with two stadiums?”.
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The questions come amid a housing problem which has seen rent increase by 45 per cent over the past five years, the most of any state. The rent increase comes despite Tasmania being the state with the lowest incomes in Australia.
In addition to its housing crisis, Tasmania is also grappling with public education and public health issues.
Tasmanians are frustrated by what seems to be limited money that is available to address these issues compared to the millions of dollars that will be poured into making the AFL’s project a reality.
Despite the criticism from people in the state, Premier Jeremy Rockliff took to Twitter to explain how the AFL project will benefit Tasmanians.
“I don’t want to sit back in 10 years’ time when I’m back on the farm, thinking, ‘you know what, if only I drove that a bit harder we might’ve got that’. Well, today we got it,” he wrote.
“We’ve secured a $240 million investment to transform Mac Point, into something we can all be proud of. The entire precinct will contain housing for health workers, community facilities and a multi-purpose stadium that unlocks Tassie’s very own AFL team.
“This is going to turbocharge the Tasmanian economy for decades, and allow us to continue investing record amounts into health, housing and education. Because Tasmanians deserve what every other state has. And it’s the right thing to do.”
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