A recent article in a major daily newspaper, penned by Tasmania’s Coordinator-General John Perry, has sparked debate across the state’s political landscape, with ABC News (Tasmania) reporting concerns over its origins and content. The 3,000-word piece, which advocated for the proposed Macquarie Point stadium, appeared in the news section rather than the opinion pages, leading some to describe it as resembling a government advertisement rather than independent analysis.
According to ABC News (Tasmania), emails reveal extensive involvement from multiple groups with vested interests in the stadium project in the development of Mr Perry’s article. Mr Perry himself acknowledged that his office undertook the work and commissioned data “without being requested by government,” but subsequently sought and received permission from ministers to publish it. This indicates the piece was official work, utilising public resources and cleared by government ministers, despite being presented as analysis. As Coordinator-General, Mr Perry operates within the Department of State Growth, reporting directly to the Minister for State Growth and ultimately the Premier, meaning the government was aware of and condoned the article’s publication.
Mr Perry’s article claimed the stadium project would generate “almost $5 for every $1” spent, projecting $221 million in “new economic activity” annually against an annual holding cost of $44.5 million for debt financing. However, critics, including Ruth Forrest, have labelled the piece a “sales pitch masquerading as economic evidence,” arguing it relies on “faulty logic, selective inclusions, and a deliberate conflation of very different economic concepts”. The ABC reported that Infrastructure Australia and Treasury guidelines explicitly caution against using input-output multipliers, the method reportedly employed by Mr Perry, to claim public value, instead recommending a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis that accounts for all resource costs, not just interest payments.
This latest development comes amidst ongoing controversy surrounding the stadium project, which has seen its estimated cost escalate to $1.13 billion. The Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC) previously released a draft integrated assessment report that found the project’s costs were “approximately double its estimated benefits,” yielding a benefit-cost ratio of around 0.5. The TPC had urged against the project, citing doubts over its economic viability and potential visual impact on Hobart’s heritage waterfront. The government has since bypassed the TPC’s independent assessment process, opting instead for parliamentary approval through enabling legislation.
The ABC News (Tasmania) report raises questions about transparency and the nature of publicly funded analysis in major infrastructure debates. Readers interested in the full details are encouraged to read the original ABC News (Tasmania) article.