Us no closer to AFL side

in Tasmania would benefit the island socially, economically and culturally. The case is overwhelming.

Both North Melbourne and Hawthorn have done wonderful things in Tasmania and deserve our respect, but this debate is not about them. It is about what is best for Tasmania.

The AFL keeps us on the hook when it says they will establish a youth academy here, as if it were some gift. The academy model is being rolled out across the country and it’s purely about making sure the AFL gets access to the best talent and to cream the top off Tasmanian football.

It’s a harvesting strategy, not a Tasmanian football development strategy.

Similarly, discussions around a single side playing seven or eight games in Tasmania is nothing more than the AFL seeking to take advantage of Tasmania’s love of the game, while investing very little in it.

The same can be said for the expansion of the AFLW league. The AFL’s decision to only issue licences to existing AFL teams again leaves the Tasmanian market as one to be exploited by someone else. The argument for a Tasmanian team, with the AFLW league still in the development phase, could not be stronger.

We currently have two Victorian teams playing seven games in Tasmania bringing interstate supporters spending money and sharing their experiences. The question remains: will one Victorian team, a team with a small supporter base and no longterm commitment, entice their supporters to travel to Tasmania eight times a year? This diminishes the economic foundation that has been laid, particularly if not replaced by the establishment and employment of a team’s full infrastructure in the state.

The one team offer diminishes the benefit of government and private sector investment for AFL in Tasmania. It does not make sense economically and it does make sense in terms of the respect we should be treated with.

The truth is, if the AFL wanted us to have our AFL team it would happen. Everything is in place to make it happen now. There are no genuine reasons for opposition.

The Gold Coast Suns have about 11,600 members. They have a suburban-like ground they can’t fill, they have no coach and they have players lining up to leave. When will the AFL accept that this is a failed experiment?

They should simply walk away from it and establish the 18th licence for an AFL team in Tasmania, or failing that simply issue a 19th license and build Tasmania’s own AFLW team alongside it.

The football world would celebrate such a decision. David O’Byrne is a Labor candidate for Franklin.