Candidates in Tasmania's Legislative Council election weighing up Hobart stadium decision
The Tasmanian electorate of Montgomery is one of the furthest from Hobart, but the capital city stadium proposal may be a central issue at next Saturday's election for the north-west upper house seat.
Voters in Montgomery, which takes in parts of Burnie, the Central Coast, Sheffield and extends south to the Cradle Valley, will go to the polls on May 24 alongside electors in Nelson and Pembroke — two seats with a view of Macquarie Point, the site of the planned arena.
But unlike the Hobart seats where popular incumbents are recontesting their roles, Montgomery's Liberal MP Leonie Hiscutt is retiring — leaving the race open to several contenders, including her son Casey Hiscutt.
Mr Hiscutt, however, is running as an independent, and the Liberal government is hoping former federal senator Stephen Parry will retain the seat for the party.
Independent Gatty Burnett is also standing, as is Greens candidate Darren Briggs and Adrian Pickin from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.
The candidates have offered a range of views on the stadium, and whoever is successful will be crucial to helping — or hindering — the government's plans for the stadium.
The Liberal government needs state parliament's upper house, known as the Legislative Council, to pass its special legislation on the stadium if it is to be built as it is currently proposed.
It's guaranteed to pass the lower house, where Labor has vowed its support.
The AFL issued Tasmania an entry licence to the league on the condition that a stadium be built at Macquarie Point.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff has been criticised after issuing an ultimatum to legislative councillors.
"If the legislation is not passed, the stadium won't go ahead and the team will not go ahead," Mr Rockliff said earlier this month.
Independent upper house MP Ruth Forrest said the premier's language was "threatening."
Polling published by the Tasmanian firm EMRS in February indicated the broader north-west population was largely opposed to the stadium, with 65 per cent of the region against the plan, compared to 59 per cent of people statewide.
Ulverstone resident Helen Farmer said she had signed up to be a member of the Tasmania Devils team, but she felt the stadium planning had not been transparent and the location was not suitable.
Another Montgomery voter, Alan Rowe, said he believed "it'd be a great thing for the state".
Data specific to Montgomery has not been published but, coincidentally, the Montgomery candidate stances closely align with the EMRS polling, with three of the five opposed to the government's plan.
Mr Parry said he had come across opposition to the stadium in the electorate but believed he had convinced voters to support it when he explained the "long-term benefit".
Mr Hiscutt said he was a supporter of a Tasmanian AFL team, which he said relied on a stadium in Hobart for a sustainable business model.
He said he would "scrutinise" the legislation, and criticised the government's handling of the negotiations for lacking transparency.
Greens candidate Dr Briggs argues that public money spent on the stadium would be better spent on housing.
Ms Burnett has similarly said she does not believe the voters back a stadium.
"The constituents that I speak to across Montgomery are clear that they don't want a stadium," she said.
And the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate says the stadium should be built in Launceston.
Political analyst Kevin Bonham says the stadium is not the only race in town for Montgomery voters.
"I wouldn't assume that it's an overwhelming issue, but I think it is certainly there," Dr Bonham said.
He said he wouldn't expect voters to back "any anti-stadium candidate" on the ticket, but if anyone other than Mr Parry is successful in Montgomery, it could spell trouble for the Liberal government's plans.
And earlier this week, Liberal MP Liberal MP Felix Ellis was singing a similar song.
"It's quite clear that votes for the other candidates … could kill the dream of an AFL team for Tasmanians."
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