Politics, election makes devil's brew of Tassie stadium
Construction of a 23,000-seat roofed venue at Macquarie Point in Hobart is a condition of the Devils' licence to enter the league in 2028.
The project is backed by the incumbent Liberals and Labor opposition which both fell short of the 18 seats needed for majority government at Saturday's snap poll.
Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff and Labor leader Dean Winter have started courting four crossbench independents, three of whom campaigned on an anti-stadium platform.
Labor is expected to finish with 10 seats behind the Liberals' 14, meaning in order to govern it would need support of the five-seat Greens who are vehemently anti-stadium.
Mr Rockliff and Mr Winter have both declared the stadium is not up for negotiation.
"My very firm commitment was for our very own Tassie AFL and AFLW team. I'm very proud of securing the deal," Mr Rockliff said.
Talks with the cross bench will likely span weeks, with the three undecided seats potentially not determined until August 2.
Two pathways exist for approving the stadium, both of which require a vote of both houses of parliament.
The initial method was an assessment under Tasmania's project of state significance process.
But tight timelines and financial penalties if the stadium isn't finished for the 2029 season prompted Mr Rockliff to change course and put forward fast-track approval legislation.
Debate on that legislation was delayed by the snap election, which was sparked by a Labor-led no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff.
Despite Greens and cross bench stadium opposition, the legislation, with Liberal and Labor numbers, will pass the lower house.
"What the vote said is that two-thirds of Tasmanians voted for pro-Tassie Devils and pro-stadium candidates. That is resounding," Mr Rockliff said.
The stadium, however, faces a trickier path through the 15-member upper house where neither the Liberals nor Labor have the numbers.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon maintained he was confident of the club's 2028 start date.
"I'm not a builder but what we need to do is work with the government of the day to get the planning permission ... and basically just get on with it," he told reporters on Monday.
The Devils stand ready to work with the incoming Tasmanian government.
"We are focused on entering the AFL and AFLW by 2028, in order to do that we have several time frames that must be met," the club said in a statement.
"We are very eager to work with the government to realise these."
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an hour ago
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In March, Syria issued a constitutional declaration to guide the interim period under Sharaa's leadership. The document preserves a central role for Islamic law while guaranteeing women's rights and freedom of expression. It raised concerns of civic groups and Western nations about the concentration of power among the country's Islamist-led leadership. Syria is expected to hold its first parliamentary election under the new administration in September, the head of the electoral commission has told state news agency SANA. Voting for the 210-member People's Assembly is scheduled to take place between September 15 and 20, said Mohamed Taha, who is overseeing the electoral process, on Sunday. President Ahmed al-Sharaa has received a draft electoral law that amends a previous decree and raises the number of seats from 150 to 210. A third of the seats will be appointed by the president. The government has pledged broad representation and said it will allow foreign observers to monitor electoral committees overseeing the vote. Officials said areas outside government control, including Kurdish-held regions in northern Syria and the Druze-majority province of Sweida, would continue to have seats allocated based on population. The new assembly is expected to lay the groundwork for a broader democratic process, which critics say currently lacks sufficient participation from minority groups. It will also be tasked with approving landmark legislation aimed at overhauling decades of state-controlled economic policies and ratifying treaties that could reshape Syria's foreign policy alliances. In March, Syria issued a constitutional declaration to guide the interim period under Sharaa's leadership. The document preserves a central role for Islamic law while guaranteeing women's rights and freedom of expression. It raised concerns of civic groups and Western nations about the concentration of power among the country's Islamist-led leadership.
