No Fast Track for dodgy developers. The TCT worked intensely with Planning Matters Alliance Tasmania and other community and conservation groups in 2020 to stop or significantly amend the State Governments Major Projects Bill. Despite a massive campaign and concerted efforts in the parliament to improve the bill it passed the parliament on 24 September 2020 with only minor amendments. In the months before the Bill we met on multiple occasions with Labor, the Greens and the Upper House independents to explain why it was crucial the legislation be amended to include the right for the Tasmanian people to appeal developments. We convinced Labor and others to support our proposed amendments on appeal rights but Labor ultimately backflipped, siding with property developers over people and leaving appeal rights out of the bill. Over the four years of debate TCT and our allies and supporters were able to get the following changes:
– Removed the direct ministerial control of appointment to the Major Projects assessment panel.
– Brought the appointment of the panel under the control of the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission.
– Tightening of the Major Projects declaration criteria, making it harder for inappropriate developments to be declared.
With the Major Projects Bill passed, the work of the TCT is more important than ever. The Major Projects Bill could be used for projects such as Cambria Green, Rosny Hill, the Fragrance Towers or the Mount Wellington Cable Car. TCT has a plan for what to do if one of these controversial projects is declared a Major Project. We are assembling a fighting fund to challenge the declaration of an unsuitable project. The fund will be used to springboard a challenge in the supreme court if a project like Cambria Green, Rosny Hill, the Fragrance Towers or the cable car was declared a major project. Thanks to TCT and our allies, the declaration criteria have been narrowed down to make a supreme court challenge possible. You can donate to the TCT’s fighting fund by clicking here.
As you will see from the list of campaigns below, the Major Projects legislation may be the only path forward for most of the worst proposals for over-development in Tasmania.
Archive – TCT’s Submission on the Draft Tasmanian Major Projects Bill
– The Government has too much power when declaring major projects: The Major Projects Bill gives the minister total power to declare a major project which removes it from the normal local council planning process. The Tasmanian Planning Commission ‘may’ produce guidelines but even if they do the minister only has to “have regard to” them and doesn’t have to follow them. Any project which has been refused by a council or the Planning Appeals Tribunal could be later declared a major project and potentially approved. Used in this way, the legislation greatly reduces the relevance of the Planning Appeal Tribunal.
– Virtually any project could be a major project: The Major Projects Bill allows virtually any development that would normally go to a local council, from a subdivision to a pulp mill, to be declared a major project. The eligibility criteria are so broad and open to interpretation by the minister that he can justify virtually any project as a major project. All controversial projects around Tasmania could be fast tracked including – Cambria Green on the east coast; the Fragrance skyscrapers in Hobart and Launceston; Lake Malbena Helicopter proposal and other developments in the world heritage area; and cable cars proposed for Mt Wellington, Mt Roland and Cataract Gorge.
– Development Assessment Panels are not independent: There are many checks and balances that apply to the Tasmanian Planning Commission that ensures it operates in an independent, transparent and evidence-based manner. For 23 years it has maintained a high level of community trust. There are insufficient checks and balances on the Development Assessment Panel who may be open to unfair influence from the proponent or state government.
– Independent Tasmanian Planning Commission is sidelined: Despite comments by the state government, the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission will not be assessing and approving major projects. All the power to assess and approve developments is given to a Development Assessment Panel that may include no Tasmanian Planning Commission person. The only safeguard that exists is that the development assessment panel members must be approved by the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission but this could change after the government’s current review of the Commission.
– No justification for more major projects or fast tracking powers: Tasmania doesn’t need more fast tracking powers. The government has not made the case for why new major projects powers are needed. The Major Projects Bill is intended to replace the Projects of Regional Significance process but no details have been provided about what is wrong with PORS. Tasmania has Projects of State Significance legislation which is a credible process for large and complex projects – and was successfully used to approve the Basslink cable.
Highrise buildings clause removed: The previous draft of the Bill partially addressed community concerns by excluding highrise hotels as eligible projects, but the clause has been removed from the latest draft.
– No right of appeal and limited community input: The community will have no right to appeal against the approval of a major project and will have limited right to have input. Appeal rights provide the community with an avenue to have bad decisions reviewed and removing appeal rights for major developments greatly weakens our democracy.
– Your elected councillors will be side-lined: The Major Projects Bill allows the minister to take developments away from local councils and approved by Development Assessment Panels. Elected councillors will not have a say over approval of major projects. The DAP members are unelected and the community will not be able to lobby them or vote them out.
– Planning scheme changes can be forced on councils and communities: Under the proposed legislation planning scheme amendments can be forced on councils and communities. A major project can be approved that is inconsistent with a planning scheme and, after the permit is issued, the Tasmanian Planning Commission must amend the planning scheme to remove any inconsistency. The proponents of Cambria Green may use this path. If developers have planning scheme amendments refused by the Tasmanian Planning Commission, they could go through the major projects process and have the Commission’s decision overturned. The legislation subverts the role of the Commission in the same way as it subverts the Planning Appeal Tribunal.