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Tasmania looks set to have its own AFL team after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged an additional $240 million to the state government to build a new waterfront stadium in Hobart.

The prime minister said some of the AFL's greatest players had come from Tasmania, and it was time for the island state to have its own team.

"It's not the Australian Football League if it leaves off the south island, and that's what's occurred for too long," he told reporters on Saturday.

"What this project will be is a very significant project that will lift up Tasmania and lift up this most beautiful of cities here in Hobart."

The funding will go towards redeveloping Hobart's waterfront on the River Derwent, from Macquarie Point to Regatta Point with a multi-purpose stadium, as well as upgrading the areas transport and ports, and building new housing.

"This is an exciting project," the prime minister said.

"The truth is that more should have been done over the last decade."

The pre-budget announcement to build the sporting facility had been widely tipped this week, after the AFL said Tasmania's entry into the competition could only happen with the construction of the $715 million stadium.

The plan will be developed through engagement with Hobart locals, First Nations groups, the Hobart City Council and RSL Tasmania to ensure the site respects the area's history.

The additional $375 million will come from the Tasmanian government, and $15 million will come from the AFL, and another $85 million will come from commercial land sales, according to the Hobart Mercury.

Mr Albanese said 4200 jobs would be created during construction of the precinct plus ongoing jobs in tourism and hospitality.

The deal was confirmed by Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff shortly before he appeared with the prime minister in Hobart.

"As I said, I don't want to sit back in 10 years time when I'm back on the farm, thinking 'you know what, if only I drove that a bit harder we might've got that'," the premier said in a tweet on Saturday.

Tasmania would be able to host major events that had previously skipped the state, and the construction and life of the stadium would create investment and new jobs for locals, Mr Rockliff later said in a statement.

The prime minister was heckled during Saturday's announcement over the rising cost of housing in Tasmania, as he said building new homes would be a central part of the broader redevelopment.

Affordable houses, including for essential workers, would be built on crown land at Regatta Point as part of the project, the prime minister said.

"Let's talk about housing prime minister," a woman yelled at Mr Albanese during the press conference.

The Albanese government has also committed $65 million to match state government funding for upgrades to UTAS stadium in Launceston, which will also host AFL matches.

The UTAS Stadium redevelopment will deliver a new eastern stand, improved playing facilities and an entertainment precinct.

© AAP 2023

The devastated family of a Queensland man lost at sea on a Hawaii-bound cruise has remembered him as a kind and gentle soul after search efforts were called off.

Brisbane man Warwick Tollemache, 35, disappeared from the Quantum of the Seas liner hundreds of kilometres south of the Hawaiian islands on Wednesday night, Australian time.

The US Coast Guard on Friday suspended the aerial and marine search after finding no trace of Mr Tollemache and discussing his chances of survival with his family.

"Our family is heartbroken at the loss of our beloved Warwick," Mandy Tollemache wrote on social media.

"He was a kind, beautiful, and gentle soul who was adored by everyone who knew him. He will be deeply missed."

Mr Tollemache's girlfriend Celine La Roche paid tribute earlier this week, posting a photo alongside the words "I love you, always have and always will. RIP my love" on Facebook.

Ms La Roche said she did not understand why the search had been called off.

"They should have kept looking - I don't understand why they stopped the search," she told the Courier Mail on Friday.

"I'm just devastated."

She had held out hope he was alive and uninjured.

"I was still hoping until I heard they'd stopped the search and now ... he could still be alive in the middle of nowhere."

Discussions with Mr Tollemache's next of kin and the Australian consulate, as well as relevant case information, helped inform the decision, search and rescue mission coordinator Kevin Cooper said in a statement.

"The coast guard has made the difficult decision to suspend the active search for the passenger aboard the Quantum of the Seas," he said.

The incident happened in the Pacific Ocean about 800km south of Kailua-Kona, on the west coast of Hawaii's Big Island.

The cruise ship deployed six life rings and stayed in the area for two hours before continuing on its way, with the coast guard taking over the search on Wednesday morning.

A Coast Guard C-130 Hercules aircrew completed five searches over the course of six hours while on scene.

The operation came as passengers left the cruise ship in Honolulu, where it docked after 15 days at sea.

One of those on board, Susan Whittington, said passengers were given little information about what had happened after they were woken at night by the ship shuddering to a halt.

"We were wondering what was going on and it was followed by an announcement over the intercom saying that a passenger had gone overboard," she said.

"You couldn't really see much, just the lights searching the area, but then it was very late at night.

"It was almost impossible to see anything in the water, so we didn't hold hope for there being an outcome from it. It was quite distressing and there weren't a lot of details after that."

The Department of Foreign Affairs is providing assistance to Mr Tollemache's family.

AAP has contacted cruise operator Royal Caribbean for comment.

© AAP 2023

State and territory leaders have agreed with the federal government on health, housing and disability measures which would deliver what the prime minister has described as practical reforms that will make a difference.

With NSW Premier Chris Minns attending national cabinet for the first time following his ousting of the Perrottet government, Anthony Albanese was joined at the table by only one Liberal premier, Tasmania's Jeremy Rockliff.

The leaders, meeting in Brisbane on Friday, signed off on a $2.2 billion plan to reform Medicare, while also agreeing to NDIS spending caps and housing changes.

They backed plans to improve access to after-hours care for patients and expanding the number of nurses in the workforce.

Mr Albanese said health would be the main focus for national cabinet for 2023, with reform in the sector to be discussed at a meeting in the last quarter of the year.

"One of the things identified is patients who will regularly turn up at emergency departments. We want to make sure there is registration there so we can reach out," he told reporters on Friday.

While some state leaders, such as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, have called for a 50-50 health funding arrangement with the Commonwealth to be extended, the prime minister said the Medicare changes would bring practical reform.

"If I said to (leaders) we're going to provide 50-50, they'd say 'that's great but 60-40 would be better from the Commonwealth and 70-30 would be better still'," he said.

"What we're discussing here and what the premiers have done is come up with practical outcomes of reform that makes a difference, that recognises that there (are) finite funds from all levels of government."

National cabinet also discussed the National Disability Insurance Scheme, committing to a framework to ensure it is made more financially viable.

This would set a target growth of no more than eight per cent by July 2026, with the scheme on track to be the most expensive item in the federal budget, eclipsing Medicare.

More than $720 million has been committed to boost the capability of the agency in charge of the scheme to better support participants.

"We need to have a sustainable growth trajectory for the NDIS in order to support equity and fairness for all Australians who are living with disability, including those not eligible for the NDIS," Mr Albanese said.

"We want to make sure the promise of the NDIS is fulfilled."

State and territory leaders also agreed to support plans for national cabinet to develop reforms for improving the rights of renters.

"What we're not seeking to do is to be absolutely uniform because different states will have different circumstances but there are measures and commitments every state and territory is doing something in this area," Mr Albanese said.

"There are a range of measures that will be considered by state and territory governments to strengthen the system of renters' rights."

National skills agreements were also on the agenda at the meeting, along with the energy transition to net-zero.

Ahead of the referendum on the Indigenous voice later this year, all leaders backed efforts to support the constitutional change.

© AAP 2023