Abandon stadium call after listing

Goods Shed bolsters Greens

The heritage listing of the 110year-old Goods Shed at Macquarie Point is another reason why the proposed stadium at the site should be abandoned, Greens candidate Cassy O’Connor says.

The Tasmanian Heritage Council announced the listing of the 1914 building on Wednesday. It was listed provisionally in December.

Ms O’Connor, who is standing as the Greens’ candidate in the Legislative Council division of Hobart, said the implications were obvious.

“The fact now that we’ve got this beautiful heritage listed building smack bang at centre half forward on the field on the stadium site is just yet another reason why the Planning Commission should reject the project of state significance, parliament should reject it, and the Premier should walk away,” she said.

“There are so many issues with this stadium, a $1bn price tag, the scale of it, the impact on the sacred ground of the Cenotaph, the fact that there’s no mandate for it, the lost opportunity of investing in housing and health and real climate action.”

Labor leader Dean Winter said it was yet another headache for the stadium proposal.

“I’ve been saying this for 12 months, it’s not about whether you want the stadium to be built or not, it’s actually about whether it can be built,” he said.

“So you now have a site that’s got a Goods Shed which has been heritage listed, you’ve got water down to 1.5m, you’ve got a contaminated site, you’ve got not enough physical space, you’ve got a port facility which needs to have access to it, you’ve got our veterans, who are raising concerns with the Cenotaph.

“I think it’s important that the Premier outlines what this means for the project going forward and what it means for our AFL team.”

Housing and Planning Minister Felix Ellis said the government was committed to building the stadium at Macquarie Point.

“It’s an exciting development,” he said. “It’s going to be incredible for Tasmanians to finally have our team in the AFL.

“That development and that stadium also means hundreds of new apprentices, thousands of jobs for Tasmanians in our building and construction sector. So it’s exciting.

“Look, obviously, the independent planning process is now under way. Heritage matters are considered as part of that and we’ll continue that process as appropriate.”

Stadium opponents, Our Place, welcomed the heritage listing.

“This listing should surprise nobody. Macquarie Point is steeped in European history, as is all of Sullivans Cove,” spokesman Roland Browne said.

“The proposed stadium will blight that history and the heritage represented by the Goods Shed. It will blight Sullivans Cove and it will obliterate the Goods Shed.”