Romantic notion ignores reality
FOOTY
IT may have escaped the attention of Bill Shorten and Julie Collins that Tasmania already has two AFL-standard football venues. Shorten’s ill-considered effort to buy votes in Braddon might pay for half the first year of an AFL club’s expenses. It’s $40-plus million a year for the Gold Coast, and would be no different here. It’s an attractive thought that Tasmania’s young stars would one day play for a team from their home state, but this romantic notion ignores the reality of the AFL draft. A new team from Tasmania would be made up of a small number of ageing established players recruited from other clubs on overthe-odds salaries and a host of kids drafted from all the states. If we hold our average, about 1.5 of those kids would be from Tasmania. The decision to offer club licences rests with the AFL, and no loose change handout will have any impact on that. So Bill, forget the populist rubbish, and see if instead you can work with the elected government of the country on things that matter and improve things for everyone.
Taxpayer drain
IT would be cheaper to distribute the $25 million to each voter in Braddon than to fund a Tassie AFL team start-up. At least all of us would not have to pay a foreverongoing, treasury-draining subsidy to keep the team going, in the same way as the taxpayer has for years had to pay for the running of Robin Gray’s Derwent Entertainment Centre. The $25 million voter payment would be a drain on the poor taxpayer only once.
Promises, promises
WHAT is a promise worth, particularly a political promise? To cash in on the Tasmanian obsession with having its own AFL team, Bill Shorten has promised an infusion of $25 million, yet this is the same man who promised to support Kevin Rudd as his leader. He then promised to support Julia Gillard in her leadership. We all know how these promises turned out. It would be nice for Tasmania to receive $25 million to help the football dream achieve reality but given Shorten’s record I don’t think we should be holding our breath.
Moving backwards
I NOW know what they use to inflate AFL footballs, hot air. Funny promising us a team in the VFL in future, when not so long ago before AFL, the TFL beat them. How we have gone backwards. The modern term repeatedly used by politicians Another way to have your say themercury.com.au readers have another way to have their say. It’s free to use, just register and have your say. For more details and to register, visit the website. and the like is “moving forward”. Why don’t we do our own moving forward by moving backwards to those days of the TFL, NTFA and NWFU and by doing so moving forward using our own strength. Revert back to local football and perhaps employ some star players to give our games a lift and get bums back on seats and money in the till. Then we form a team of selected champions from all over the state but centralised in Hobart. The AFL in Australia shall be begging us to join their exclusive game. We Tasmanians will have to make it so.
Won’t persuade us
AS much as Tasmanians want their own AFL team, we won’t be bribed by Bill Shorten’s pledge to provide $25 million to fund it if Labor gets elected at the next election. Remember Bill, you couldn’t even get people to attend your lunch last week whilst on the Braddon hustings.
Fight together
SIMON Bevilacqua has succinctly put the shabby treatment of Tasmania by the AFL over the years — “but like all prejudices, those who hold them are blind to them. I am not a racist, but …” (Mercury, July 7). I also agree with him that AFL is national in name only because “every decision it makes is from the Melbourne perspective”. Tasmanians need to fight together to avoid another disappointment.
Team name
SHORTEN’S AFL team should be called the Braddon Pork Barrellers.
Costly cars
AUSTRALIA has abandoned manufacturing cars and in doing so we rely entirely on imported vehicles. The end result is that because of the poor performance of the Australian dollar we pay 26 per cent more for our vehicles. Both private and commercial.
Go Saints
AS Tasmania virtually won the Saints’ one and only premiership in 1966 it looks like their only hope to win another one is to become the Tassie Saints! Fixes two problems in one, Gil.
Pork-barrelled
JUST when you thought it was safe, pork-barrelling is alive and well. Maybe we need a by-election in the South. Another $40 million for the Bass Highway.