Media release – Residents Opposed to the Cable Car (ROCC), 14 June 2021
Where’s the Cable Car Business Plan?
Residents Opposed to the Cable Car (ROCC) today called on the proponent of the cable car and its associated tourism development to release a business plan that demonstrates commercial viability and that public subsidies of any kind will not be required to build and operate the venture.
The Wellington Park Management Plan requires the publication of a five-year business plan (pg. 135), but the proponent has consistently refused to release whatever analysis it has previously done. The recently advertised Development Application (DA) has no analysis of project viability or associated inputs such as closure due to wind or maintenance, patronage post-COVID or the impact of new social distancing requirements.
“Putting aside the requirements of the Management Plan, as publicly-owned land that has been reserved since 1906, this proponent owes a skeptical public some transparency about the cable car’s financial viability,” said Vica Bayley, spokesperson for ROCC.
“Many people see the cable car as a white elephant, a mass-tourism project that is highly susceptible to weather and the whim of a very dynamic tourism market. There’s nothing in the DA that can give any confidence to the contrary.”
“As a developer who once claimed a virtue out of its commitment to accountability and transparency, there’s some glaring holes in the DA and a demonstration that this project is financially viable is one of them.
“Opposition to this project is widespread and varied and demonstrating financial viability won’t justify the privatisation of public reserves for profit, but it might allay concerns that the taxpayer will have to pick up the pieces.
ROCC will host a public meeting tomorrow (Tuesday 15th) to showcase issues associated with the proposal and remind the public they have just one more week to make a representation to the Hobart City Council. Speakers include experts on Aboriginal and European heritage, economics, traffic, environment and visual impacts. 12.30 – Hobart Town Hall.
“This development is not a transport solution for the mountain, it’s a private grab for one of Tasmania’s most iconic views to develop thousands of square metres of commercial floorspace.”
