Peter Gutwein,Premier
In a landmark day for Tasmania, Colin Carter in his report has unequivocally stated that Tasmania deserves and should have its own AFL and AFLW teams.
The Carter report found - "the case for Tasmania is strong and the recommendation is that Tasmania should be represented by a team in the AFL and AFLW national competitions".
Tasmanians have been waiting for this moment for decades, and the day has finally arrived when the AFL's own report agrees that we deserve our own team.
We have always said that Tasmania has served its time and deserves its place in the national AFL competition. The report backs this up - confirming that Tasmania is a football State and the cost of securing a team is reasonable, fulfils the purpose of the AFL, and is the right thing to do.
Importantly, the report also found that any economic arguments can be overcome provided Government funding is secured, and that many of the key concerns raised can all be managed, and should not influence the final decision.
The report states that three options are viable - a 19th team, a relocated team, or a 50/50 joint venture in partnership with a Victorian team.
While our preference is for a licence for a 19th standalone Tasmanian team, we would also consider a relocated team.
However, we do not support the proposal of a joint venture.
Tasmania deserves its own team - We don't want to rent one.
This option would effectively be the same arrangement as we have had in place for 20 years and not our own Tasmanian license, which is what our State has deserved and fought for over many years.
Our focus remains fully on securing a team based fully in Tasmania, as outlined in the Tasmanian AFL Licence Taskforce report, either through our preferred approach of a 19th licence or the relocation of an existing team.
With regard to timing, Mr Carter states that reaching a 'yes' decision should not be influenced by COVID, but the implementation timetable should, which we absolutely agree with noting that our business case was based on a team entering the competition in 5-6 years time.
In this regard, I am very disappointed with the AFL, who have once again tried to kick the can down the road by using COVID as an excuse - the exact opposite of what Mr Carter proposes.
This is just another stalling tactic and we do not accept it, and nor will Tasmanians.
We stand ready to work with the AFL right now on what the best model for a Tasmanian team would look like, along with any other matters raised in the report that may need addressing ahead of a final decision by the other 18 clubs which we have always understood would be towards the end of this year.
The onus is on the AFL to clarify why they now want to once again defer providing Tasmania with a decision and I would hope that they would reaffirm that there will be a decision point later this year, as we had previously understood it would be.
If they do not, we will not sign new contracts with Hawthorn and North Melbourne.
I would like to thank Mr Carter for the openness he has brought to all his meetings with the taskforce and stakeholders in recent times and for the many hours he has spent preparing this report in the last few months.
His report is clear, the case has been made.
It is now time for action from the AFL and I have expressed this view directly to Mr McLachlan.
The ball is firmly in the AFL's hands, only they can end more than 30 years of uncertainty, and allow the national competition to become just that with the entry of Tasmania.
