ONE of the must curious things about the government’s muddle-headed stadiums policy is that it seems unlikely to win any votes at all.
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It is not unusual in public life for a government to be forced to take a stand on an issue that divides the community, but at least in those cases it can hope to have the support of around half of the electorate.
The longer the stadiums debacle goes on, however, the more it seems that virtually no-one supports it.
Even the latest revelation – that the contract signed with builder Lendlease includes a clause that does not commit the government to paying the full $730 million bill for the knockdown and rebuild of Allianz Stadium at Moore Park if the deal is scuttled by a new government – will do little to ease the pressure on the incumbents.
Opposition leader Michael Daley has read the public mood on this issue much better than Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Sports Minister Stuart Ayres, who have taken a seemingly kamikaze approach to this particular piece of government policy.
Mr Daley has vowed to find a way to get the NSW public out of the stadiums deal if Labor wins government in March but each contract signed by the current government will only make that more difficult.
And for what reason? It is hard to see where the government thinks is will pick up the votes needed to justify such outrageous public expense in the face of such strident criticism.
Perhaps there will be some votes in western Sydney as a result of the Parramatta Stadium rebuild, but surely not enough for the Coalition to pick up any seats there.
And who could possibly be planning to change their vote (in favour of the government) as a result of the Moore Park and Homebush stadium projects?
The government is still yet to make a convincing case that the rebuilds are needed so, come March, its MPs will be left to defend a plan that fails on both political and pragmatic grounds.
And in what is expected to be a close-run election, this single issue could well be the difference between retaining government and being consigned to opposition.
Even worse for those sitting on the government benches is the fact that, unlike the council amalgamations and greyhound racing disasters, the stadiums mess has gone too far for a backflip to save them.
It simply beggars belief.