Liberals' Secret Deal with Larry Kestelman: Family renting in Glenorchy pays more than billionaire
The Public Accounts Committee's inquiry into the proposed sale of Wilkinsons Point and the lease of MyState Bank Arena has laid bare a staggering pattern of secret deals, governance failures, and a disregard for taxpayer money under the Liberals.
Larry Kestelman is a billionaire. He has already sold the JackJumpers for a reported $35 million, while his company, a separate entity, is now leasing MyState Arena for less than a family pays in rent for a family home in Glenorchy.
How did he get this deal? The Tasmanian Liberal Government gave it to him.
Tasmanians will be appalled to learn that despite having handed over a premier public asset, taxpayers receive a net return of less than $30,000 a year from the MyState Bank Arena lease.
While base rent was set at $200,000, the Liberal Government secretly locked taxpayers into paying an annual, CPI-adjusted "Hiring Fee Contribution" of up to $175,000 straight back to Kesselman's company.
The $175,000 annual subsidy was completely hidden from the Parliamentary Public Works Committee during its 2020 review. In the hearing, the Government overstated revenues. They have never disclosed the $175,000 annual payment back to Kestelman's company.
For six years, the Rockliff Liberal Government has made grand media announcements claiming a deal was done to sell surplus Crown land at Wilkinsons Point. The reality exposes a process in total chaos.
There is no binding agreement to sell the land. There has been no market testing. The proposed community basketball courts and high-performance centre moved elsewhere and Larry Kestelman sold the JackJumpers for a reported $35 million.
Then it got worse, the Tasmanian Department of State Growth advised Government to immediately halt exclusive direct negotiations with Larry Kestelman's LK Group. It strongly recommended that the 15-hectare Crown land parcel at Wilkinsons Point be offered on the open market via a public tender process.
The Rockliff Government ignored this advice.
Jeremy Rockliff appears hell bent on giving Larry Kestelman a good deal, but not at all interested in the interests of Tasmanians.
Taxpayers face an estimated infrastructure footprint approaching $100 million for car parking, road realignments, and site servicing, with zero agreement on cost-sharing.
This isn't commercial negotiation; it is complete mismanagement of public assets. You do not sell off $100 million in public liabilities for a $6 million headline price without a business case, without market testing and without binding development guarantees.
