Economy
And this is only Stage One …
Well, dear folks, here it finally is: Stage One of the Battery Point walkway, or should I say, segregated pedestrian and cyclists access way. Yep, it gets you from Marieville Esplanade around to the Battery Point Slipyards that exit onto Napoleon Street in Battery Point. Where? Well, you’ll soon find out.
Not, as has been trumpeted, into the City. That’s Stages Two and Three. Stage Two gets you around the heritage issues of the slipyards and back down to the water. Stage Three finally completes the voyage around to the CSIRO carpark.
The Planning bits
Advertised with a development value of $5 million, this is only Stage One that helps the cyclists avoid the somewhat steep incline of Napoleon Street in return for a less steep incline up from the water to the Napoleon Street exit.
For the full set of documents, go to http://www.hobartcity.com.au/Council/Council_Meetings/Development_and_Environmental_Services_Committee and click on the 6 October report and supporting information. Have a quiet afternoon set aside to give all the paperwork a thorough read and then go back over the initial report once you’ve read the consultants’ comments.
And believe me, I kept my mind open the whole way when I was reading all these documents, but by the time I had read the whole report and all the attached consultancies and comments and representations, and asked questions at the Committee (6 October, 2014), my planning decision was starting to coalesce.
And of course, if there is new information between now and the Council meeting, I will of course keep an open mind and take it into account. That’s what being an Aldermen is all about when we’re acting as a planning authority at Council.
Read the full opinion, Eva Ruzicka’s blog, here
AND …
• So who should have the right to represent you? And who are you, anyway? Observant folks au fait with Hobart’s General Manager’s Roll have observed a sudden increase in names of a less than Anglo-Saxon origin. I understand the TasElectoral Commission may be investigating allegations of Roll stacking. Quiet investigation on the side reveals that recruitment amongst the temporary student population by those across the political spectrum could be a cause. We await the TEC deliberations. Meantime, today’s ethical conundrum comes courtesy of the State Government’s proposed reforms to the Local Government Act 1993, namely, eligibility for nomination as a Councillor/Alderman. What a can of worms it has opened up around the table at Hobart’s Strategic Governance Committee! Currently if you are on the Tasmanian Electoral Commission’s Electoral Roll (own a residence or rent one) or on the General Manager’s Roll (as an owner or occupier, then you are eligible to vote and to stand an elected position (Councillor/Alderman). Note that there is no definition of what “occupier” means.
EARLIER ON TASMANIAN TIMES …