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“One giant mess”: The latest setback for the Tasmanian Devils
SEN • June 4th, 2025 12:21 pm
A no-confidence motion filed against Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff is threatening Tasmania’s AFL dream.
Opposition leader Dean Winter has taken a stand against Rockliff due to financial mismanagement, leaving the Devils at “serious risk for jobs, investment and growth”.
SEN Tassie’s Brent Costelloe attempted to make sense of the situation on Wednesday morning amid Winter’s no-confidence movement against incumbent Rockliff.
“It's one giant mess at the moment,” Costelloe said on SEN Breakfast.
“You guys must just think we're just shooting ourselves in the foot all the time. Every time we talk to you, it seems like there's something controversial going on, and that's definitely the case at the moment.
“Jeremy Rockliff will today potentially have to survive a motion of no-confidence in his premiership, and we're waiting on the Greens this morning to decide if that will be the case.
“They only moved a no-confidence motion in the Premier about a month ago, so I see no reason why they won't support the opposition leader Dean Winter's motion, and it could be a very hectic day down at parliament.
“This is the absolutely bizarre thing. So the no-confidence motion Dean Winter is putting into the Premier is due to the state budget, which was handed down last week.
“And also his handling of the Spirit of Tasmania fiasco, which is a whole another story in its entirety.
“They're supportive of the stadium, but what hasn't been thought about here, I don't think, is the ramifications that will have on the stadium.
“So if Jeremy Rockliff isn't premier after today, we could be heading back to the polls in another election. We only had 12 months ago, so that'll come around extremely quickly.
“If that's not the case, he won't be the leader and he's been the number one supporter of the stadium for such a long time. So it's a very, very messy situation and we won't have many more answers on it until a few hours' time, I think.”
Costelloe says any hopes the Devils have could be dashed if Rockliff is thrown out.
“The AFL's been absolutely adamant that this is part of the contract, and rightly so. This is what the club's agreed upon - a 23,000-seat roof stadium at Macquarie Point,” he added.
“If we have to start all over again, we're back to the absolute drawing board, back to square one to go and negotiate with the clubs again.
“People that think that if the stadium doesn't go ahead, we'll still have a team. It's just not the case. We need the stadium to make this team successful.
“Brendon Gale’s been adamant about that as well.
“At the moment, it's hanging on a knife’s edge. There's no doubt about it.
“And as Brendon said last week, they'll all be out of jobs if this doesn't get through.”
Gerard Whateley provided further context following Costelloe’s report.
“The Greens have announced they will support the no-confidence move should it go to a vote,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.
“If it was successful though parliament today or indeed in the future it would likely trigger an immediate election.
“This isn’t centred around footy nor the stadium, which for the time being has bipartisan support, but it could all get caught up in the politics. This has always been the risk.
“It’s one thing to have the numbers, it’s another to hold them through to the time that matters.
“It has the AFL and the Tasmanian Devils on high alert, and while entirely helpless the Devils were moved this morning to put out a statement speaking of their great concern.
“It’s not centred on football and the stadium but highly likely to have implications if the upheaval does unfold as the day progresses.”
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