Tasmanians already don’t trust Premier Rockliff to deliver major infrastructure projects competently after the Spirits fiasco, and now it has been revealed that after spending $130 million on the redevelopment of UTAS stadium, spectator capacity will be reduced to 17,500.

How is it possible that after spending $130 million, the stadium will hold fewer spectators than before?

It’s yet another glaring failure from a government that continues to mismanage major infrastructure projects. This latest debacle comes from the same Minority Government responsible for the Spirits fiasco – the biggest infrastructure stuff-up in Tasmania’s history.

When asked about the issue during question time, Premier Rockliff’s response didn’t cut the mustard. With a $130 million budget surely the Minority Liberal Government could come up with a design that didn’t reduce capacity while still managing to meet safety regulations.

The economic boost Launceston was set to receive from the upgrade looks like it will be significantly smaller thanks to yet another massive infrastructure stuff-up from the Minority Rockliff Government.

If Premier Rockliff can’t manage to handle a $130 million redevelopment of UTAS stadium, how on earth is he going to be able to build an entire stadium from scratch?

Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer