We’re for sticking up for Tassie.
THEY were just three simple words. But they yet again exposed what the mainland-based bosses of footy really think of Tasmania. Despite all the promises and assurances over the years, they just don’t care. And so when AFL boss Gillon McLachlan was asked to respond earlier this month to the crisis enveloping Tasmanian football, he let the cat out of the bag: flat out denying there was a problem – because you could look at it “through different lenses”.
It was a three-word slap-down akin to a busy parent waving a child’s concerns away with a pat on the head and a confident assurance: “You just wouldn’t understand”. But Tasmania is not a child. And our complaint is genuine. The simple reality is that the AFL doesn’t give Tasmania the respect we deserve. Never has. Plenty of promises have been made but never fulfilled; assurances given that have never been met. And that’s why the Mercury this week took up the fight to get it fixed – enlisting our readers to petition the AFL to double its $1 million of annual funding to the Tasmanian State League and develop a strategic plan for the future of footy in this state. We should win. We might not. But we just couldn’t walk away from the battle.
Taking the fight up to the mainland on behalf of our island is at the core of our mission at the Mercury and the Sunday Tasmanian. It always has been. It’s in our DNA. It’s why we proudly print that mission alongside the front page masthead every day: we are The Voice of Tasmania.
It’s not an idle boast. We have always been a proud advocate of footy in this state – championing most recently the inclusion of a Tassie side in the AFLW. But sticking up for Tassie is about so much more. Whether it’s fighting for our state’s share of the GST so we can properly fund services, or ensuring that the concerns of our pensioners are being heard in Canberra – when Tasmania has needed a powerful voice we have always been there to deliver. It was the Mercury that took up the fight – and won – when two years ago it was proposed that the model for federal health funding be changed to reflect population growth, a policy that made little sense in a state with little such growth but a growing and ageing population. It was pressure from the Mercury that led directly to the Federal Government overturning its ill-considered 2016 decision to close the scientific station on Macquarie Island, right at the time when Tasmania was coming into its own as an internationally recognised leader in Antarctic research. It was our reporting that led the way in winning hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for our northern university campuses. And it’s been the Mercury consistently at the forefront of the fight fi for a Hobart City Deal – a deal that promises to transform our capital city through the long-overdue development of Macquarie Point, the light rail system, ferries, and the University’s proposed $400 million STEM Centre on Melville Street. This strong advocacy by the Mercury is vital. Because the impact on Tasmania of decisions made across Bass Strait – whether those decisions are made in Melbourne, Sydney or Canberra – hardly seems to register. It is the literal manifestation of us being left off the map. The frustrating reality is this attitude still exists, and is ingrained. And so the Mercury will always lead the charge when it comes to fighting for a fair go for our state. We are a fearless leader, advocate and champion for our community. Our passion for this cause comes naturally because it comes from being proud Tasmanians ourselves. It’s a mission we have taken seriously since our very first edition in 1854. The Mercury has always been – and always will be – committed to sticking up for Tassie.
We’re for you Tassie.