Give me AFL say: Premier

Premier stands firm for independent review

PETER Gutwein says an hourlong meeting with footy boss Gillon McLachlan was “productive” but the Tasmanian Premier wants a say in who will conduct the AFL’s report into the state’s business case for a club in the big league.

Mr Gutwein hopes to have an answer early next week on his push to have the AFL complete the review by the middle of this year.

TASMANIAN Premier Peter Gutwein wants a say in who will conduct the AFL’s independent report into the state’s business case for a club in the big league.

It comes after a meeting on Friday morning, with talks to continue over the weekend.

Mr Gutwein hopes to have an answer as soon as Monday on his push to have the AFL review completed by the middle of this year, not the end of the year or the start of next year.

The Tasmanian Government will not renegotiate with Hawthorn and North Melbourne for games in the state until there is a clear position on a Tasmanian AFL team.

“It would be fair to say both of us are very clear on each other’s view,” Mr Gutwein said. “My sense is that Gill as the current CEO of the AFL is very well in tune with what Tasmania is looking to achieve and accomplish as a result of the work we have already done. I don’t believe he is giving me lip service in the conversations we have had.

“Today was productive, we’ll have further conversations in coming days and I’d hope that early next week I’ll be able to provide you with a further update in terms of the steps forward.”

For transparency, Mr Gutwein said he would prefer one of the major auditing companies — Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG or PwC — to conduct the review.

“It would be reasonable to say that I’ve impressed on Mr McLachlan that I would much prefer one of the independent firms, preferably one of the big four, to do this work,” he said.

“I would have concerns if it were someone who was handpicked who has had a long association with the AFL. I think both for the AFL’s comfort and for the Tasmanian government’s comfort a truly independent report would be the best way forward.”

Meanwhile, respected Tasmanian economist Saul Eslake has hit back at comments from Gold Coast Sun’s chairman Tony Cochrane that the AFL cannot afford expansion.

The Suns have the lowest membership in the AFL and rely on the highest slice of AFL distributions of any of the clubs, reaching $27m in 2019.

“The Gold Coast experiment has been an abysmal failure both on and off the field,” Mr Eslake said.

“His club should be a prime candidate for relocation to a place where people are actually interested in — and passionate about — AFL.

“No wonder he doesn’t want to talk about relocation.”