'You won't get a single cent': Labor stands firm on stadium cash
By Lisa Visentin & Jacob Saulwick
26 November 2018 — 5:46pm
The NSW Labor party will not rebuild either the Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park or proceed with an $800 million upgrade to ANZ Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park if it wins government at the March election.
Labor leader Michael Daley said that, as premier, he would scrap the entirety of the $1.5 billion earmarked for the stadiums by the Berejiklian government, and instead invest it in schools and hospitals.
Planning approval for the demolition of Allianz Stadium at Moore Park is expected within days, and is likely to be followed by the signing of a contract to demolish the stadium.
Mr Daley's policy is clearer in its intention than that offered by his predecessor as Labor leader, Luke Foley. In March, Mr Foley indicated Labor might support the refurbishment of ANZ, while always opposing the proposal for a new stadium at Moore Park.
Mr Foley resigned last month amid sexual harassment allegations, which he denied.
Announcing the policy on Monday, Mr Daley reserved his sternest words for the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust, which manages the Sydney Football Stadium, also known as Allianz Stadium. Mr Daley warned that the SCG Trust "will not get a single cent of free public money" to rebuild the stadium under his government.
"I'm saying very clearly to the SCG Trust today: do not sign contracts for the demolition of this stadium. Do not demolish this stadium. If you do, you will not get a single cent of free public money from me if I am elected premier in March of next year," Mr Daley said.
"They can get a loan from the banks or talk about possibly a concessional loan from the government, but they will have to pay it back. If they get a loan from the Daley government, it won't be free."
A spokesman for Infrastructure NSW, the government agency responsible for building and upgrading the stadiums, said the demolition contract would not be awarded until planning approval was received.
The SCG Trust declined to comment.
Plans for the new stadium are well underway, with Sports Minister Stuart Ayres last month unveiling the winning design for the stadium's facade by architecture firm Cox Richardson – the same firm that designed the existing Sydney Football Stadium.
The state government has released an animated flyover of their vision of the new Sydney Football Stadium.
A spokesman for the NRL said its memorandum of Understanding with the NSW Government, which requires a new stadium at Moore Park and a major upgrade at Olympic Park, would be at risk if the stadium at Moore Park was not rebuilt.
In return, the NRL has agreed to play the grand final and a State of Origin match in Sydney for the next 25 years.
The spokesman said that if Allianz Stadium was not rebuilt, the agreement would be void and the NRL would have to consider its options for major matches.
“That is not what we want to do … we want to see new world-class sporting facilities built in Sydney,” the spokesman said.
Mr Daley rejected assertions that his position would require Labor to break existing contracts, or that it could lead to the demolition of the stadium with no assurance as to whether a replacement stadium would be built.
"I'm not going to break contracts. I will not put the taxpayers of NSW up for hundreds of millions of dollars of sovereign risk," Mr Daley said.
But he added he would not be "blackmailed" into funding the project should the Trust "knock it down, and leave a hole".
With the election less than four months away, Mr Daley framed his position as one that would give NSW voters a "very clear distinction" between the two major parties. "The people of NSW have a very clear choice now: if you want billions of dollars spent knocking down and rebuilding perfectly good stadiums, vote for the Liberals and Nationals," he said.
"If you want billions of dollars put into schools and hospitals, vote for me."
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/...26-p50ien.html
