The leader of the Tasmanian Greens has called for the state government to end its partnership with Hawthorn Football Club, following news of racism and abuse within the organisation.
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Cassy O'Connor said the government should "pull the pin" on their sponsorship deal with the club - which requires the team to play four matches a year in the state - in comments made at the annual Green's state conference on Saturday.
Ms O'Connor said premier Jeremy Rockliff should "immediately suspend negotiations" with the club and remove Tasmanian labelling from player's jerseys.
The comments come after documents handed to Hawthorn's senior management several weeks ago revealed allegations of bullying and intimidation of several Indigenous players.
"Tasmanians are entitled to ask - did their taxpayer dollars fund racism, family separation and abortion at the Hawthorn Football Club?" she said.
"At the very least, Jeremy Rockliff should immediately suspend negotiations on the sponsorship deal until the AFL's internal review is done and the outcomes made public."
The Greens leader said the relationship with the club should end, regardless of whether or not Tasmania is successful in securing its own AFL men's and women's teams. But the state government has indicated a decision would not be made on continuing its partnership with the club until an investigation was done.
The state's four-game partnership with the club expired last week.
Ms O'Connor was also critical of the proposed stadium in Hobart, and said the AFL needed to "spend less time telling Tasmanians" what they should build, and highlighted the state's homelessness rates and elective surgery wait times as more pressing issues.
The success of Tasmania's AFL bid has become tied up in the new stadium development, with AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan saying the build was the "last hurdle" for the state in securing a team.
Mr McLachlan's comments followed the Rockliff government announcement of a $750 million arts and entertainment precinct, including a 23,000 seat stadium, at Macquarie Point in Hobart.
The announcement was heavily criticised by Labor and the health sector for prioritising the state's sporting opportunities over existing health care issues.
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