Media release – UTAS, 14 July 2022
Expressions of interest for city move consultation set to open
The next stage of consultation about the University of Tasmania’s city move begins this month with a call for expressions of interest to join an 80-person community panel, which will help shape the future of our southern campuses.
Expressions of interest will be open for two weeks from Monday, 25 July. The University is keen to get a cross section of the community to join the panel, bringing with them a diverse range of perspectives and views.
With the engagement ramping up, the University will pause the process for the proposed Sandy Bay planning scheme amendment.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Rufus Black said the initial focus of the community engagement would be on the city move.
“Education and research are the University’s top priorities, which is why we must make sure we support our staff and students with the best possible facilities in the best possible locations,” Professor Black said.
“This has driven the development of new campuses in Burnie and Launceston and the gradual move of much of our southern operations into the Hobart CBD. Indeed, once the Forestry Building is complete, more than 50 percent of our staff and students in the south will be based in Hobart’s city centre.
“Wherever we invest in new facilities for our students and our staff, our commitment is always to make sure that we are also having a positive impact on the spaces and the communities around us.
“To do that, we need to work together not just to solve concerns like traffic and parking but also to ensure we are adding amenity to the city that people truly value.”
This phase of external consultation will run through until the end of the year. The community panel will meet regularly, with their sessions to be independently facilitated and publicly reported.
Professor Black said the community had made it clear that further consultation about the future of Sandy Bay was necessary. The University will pause the proposed planning scheme amendment to create time and space for that engagement to happen.
“We want to ensure that everybody has more opportunities to provide input into what happens at Sandy Bay, and we won’t proceed with the planning process until that has happened,” he said.
There will opportunities for the community to engage on the city move in addition to the work of the community panel and a new phase of staff and student consultation is also underway, being led by the University’s Academic Senate.
For more information about the engagement process and to register your interest in participating, visit www.utas.edu.au/about/campuses/eoi.
New outdoor spaces for the community at Inveresk
Green thumbs and hoop players of all ages can enjoy the new Community Food Garden and Esk Activity Spaces now open at Inveresk.
These two new spaces are part of a $6.8m development of outdoor areas across the precinct being brought to life by the Northern Transformation Program, funded through the Launceston City Deal with contributions from the Australian and Tasmanian Governments, City of Launceston and the University.
Professor Dom Geraghty said the University was committed to ensuring its new campus at Inveresk provided outstanding facilities and amenities not just for students, but also for the Launceston community.
“These new spaces are an example of how we can support a healthier, more active community with greater access to fresh food and learning opportunities,” Professor Geraghty said.
“Both of these new outdoor spaces enable hands-on learning experiences, for students studying nutrition, health and exercise science and physical education. It will effectively become another classroom.
“The possibilities for our new Community Food Garden and Esk Activity Space will continue to grow as the vibrancy of Inveresk grows. We are thrilled to welcome school students for excursions and holiday programs and the wider community to learn and discover.”
The Community Food Garden includes over 500sqm of raised garden beds, a composting machine to support a waste-free campus, greenhouse and hammocks to relax. Surrounding the garden are pathways and landscaped areas featuring Tasmanian native species. Two large tanks collect water from the surrounding historical rooflines to use for the gardens.
Jeff McClintock is the University’s Community Garden Coordinator, creating ‘edible campus’ experiences for students and the community across the state.
“Community gardens have the power to completely transform a space and the people who inhabit it,” Mr McClintock said.
“Food insecurity is a challenge many people in the community face, so creating places they can come together, learn about local food systems and how to grow sustainable, healthy produce is an amazing opportunity.”
The Esk Activity Space includes two multipurpose playing surface courts, a running track, table tennis, bouldering wall and timber seating. As a large recreation space, it will host social sport and student-led activities, practical teaching activities and major community events.
The new outdoor spaces were designed by landscape architects Realm Studios, sought feedback from students and staff, surrounding organisations at Inveresk, schools and community groups. Baker Group led construction over 13 months, utilising a local workforce and materials as a priority.
To find out more about the next stages of development at Inveresk and how to get involved, visit www.utas.edu.au/transformation.
Media release – Save UTAS Campus, July 14, 2022
UTAS PAUSE ON RELOCATION A RUSE TO SILENCE DEBATE
The SAVE UTAS Campus group says the decision by UTAS to put a pause on its plans to relocate to the city smacks of deception and UTAS’s ongoing lack of transparency throughout the process.
The group says UTAS has failed to concede it’s already made its decisions and the ‘faux’ public consultation was being established in an effort to silence those who have genuine concerns about the relocation and its impact on Hobart City.
Save TAS Campus spokesperson Professor Pam Sharpe says UTAS is delaying the relocation to avoid scrutiny by the forthcoming Legislative Council Committee of Inquiry and to prevent any backlash against pro-move candidates in the upcoming Hobart City Council elections.
“Don’t be fooled. This is not a decision to halt the move. It is a delaying tactic, a sham sales pitch and a pretence at consultation.
“The fact UTAS is putting together an 80-person community consultation panel is, in itself, a delaying tactic.
“Why is there a need for such a large and unwieldy group of people to be able consult effectively with the community? This is just creating another level of unneeded bureaucracy long after decisions have been made.
“Indeed, our group has consistently questioned why there has never been a proper and effective community consultation process. It’s interesting that now, with the ever-increasing groundswell of public opinion against the move, UTAS is putting forward a consultation process long after the horse has bolted. This consultation should have been conducted well before a decision was made to move into the CBD. That’s how proper consultation works.”
Prof Sharpe said putting the plans ‘on hold’ was a ruse to stifle general discussion and debate until after the Hobart City Council elections and the Legislative Council Inquiry into the Provisions of the University of Tasmania Act.
“Will it be business as normal once the local government elections are held and the inquiry are over?” Prof Sharpe said.
“This is too important an issue to press the stop-start button at whim. It’s time to give the community a real say on the abandonment of the Sandy Bay campus.”
Transcript of media conference with UTAS Vice-Chancellor Rufus Black, Hedberg Building, Hobart, 14 July 2022. The first few minutes are not available.
Rufus Black
The consultation process will help us plan and design the move to the city.
Journalist – Alexandra Alvaro
Will the move still be happening in the background?
Rufus Black
Well, if the consultation process is integral to the whole enterprise, we’re getting that right, just as we’re doing extended internal consultation as well.
Journalist – unidentified
Is there any chance that the move to the city could be scrapped altogether?
Rufus Black
No chance.
Journalist – unidentified
I spoke with you a couple of weeks ago. How is this round of community consultation any different to the one that you’ve already undertaken?
Rufus Black
Well, as you recall, we’ve done substantial community consultation back at the beginning of this process. We had hundreds of people together for a multi-day summit. We consulted extensively as we created an urban design framework. Of course there are still questions, and opportunities that people are seeing. So we want to engage the next round of consultation to tackle the questions that arise particularly in a large and complex move like this, to make it work for Hobart and to increase the amenity for Hobart.
Journalist – unidentified
Are you saying you’ll get ideas you haven’t heard already?
Rufus Black
People are constantly coming up with great and creative ways of thinking about how we of course make transport more accessible, solve Hobart’s parking challenges, make the city greener, add community amenity, we want to hear all of those ideas about how we best do all of those things.
Journalist – Alexandra Alvaro
Is it perhaps an admission the previous consultation phase hasn’t gone to plan or hasn’t been adequate?
Rufus Black
No. Community consultation, inevitably in a big in a multi year process like this, is always going to be ongoing. At every single stage in a process, you’re going to be having conversations with the community to ensure it works for the community.
Journalist – unidentified
Ultimately, with plans like this there’s always easy negative feedback, no matter where you are in the country. Do you think you’re ever going to be able to change the minds of those people who are negative towards the process?
Rufus Black
There will always be in any city an appropriate diversity of views. And that’s right. That’s what we want. It’s a free society, people should have diverse views. Some are opposed. Many are very creative about how this can make Hobart a better place.
Journalist – unidentified
Was pausing the planning phase always a part of the initial plan. And if not, why have you done it now?
Rufus Black
Why…because we want to make sure that we are really focused on the questions the community has, and the opportunities they see about the city part of this move. Pausing it…one is always open to work with the community, as it unfolds. The plan is always to make sure we’re continuing to engage in the best possible way. Inevitably you evolve that as you go as you go through it.
Journalist – unidentified
So when you initially set out a plan to move to the CBD, was a pause at this phase in the consultation always a part of the plan or was it not?
Rufus Black
The plan was always to have the consultation that was needed, and always to be open to whatever evolutions were needed in order to make that successful.
Journalist – Alexandra Alvaro
A very cynical person might say that the pause is so that council elections can happen and then you can put forward the idea to a new council and not have to do have councillors capitalise on public outcry towards this during the election. What would you say to that?
Rufus Black
We’d say our key purpose here is to be focused on what’s the consultation that’s needed in order to make this the best possible development for education, for research and for the city.
Journalist – Alexandra Alvaro
Do the council elections affect the timing?
Rufus Black
We’re focusing on the community here and engaging with the community around what makes great education, accessible education, great research, and a better city.
Journalist – unidentified
It’s an 80-person community consultation group, how will that be selected?
Rufus Black
We will ask, 25th of July, we will open up for expressions of interest, people who are interested in engaging in the process. And we have an independent group who will select a group of people who represent the full diversity of views: those in favour, those against, those with creative ideas, those with questions.
Journalist – Alexandra Alvaro
How independent can it possibly be if the university is selecting who’s on it?
Rufus Black
We’re not selecting, that’s the key here. That’s why we’ve gone with an independent group to enable a truly diverse panel to be selected not by us, because we really want to listen.
Journalist – unidentified
[inaudible] processes run and why are they being kept separate?
Rufus Black
Well, because the two they’re kind of quite distinct sets of questions. We’re asking our our internal community, what is it that creates the best possible learning facilities? What’s the right location for them for the best possible research? How is that designed? That’s a quite specific set of educational questions. The broader community have a set of questions about how does this all fit into Hobart and help Hobart work better.
Journalist – unidentified
So you do remain confident that this is the right [inaudible] for UTAS?
Rufus Black
Without question. We absolutely need to provide the best possible facilities for students, for research and to make it accessible. We know how important for Tasmania’s future making education more accessible is, but also how important it is that we continue to create an ever better city. That’s really important for all of our lives in Hobart.
Journalist – unidentified
Do you see the merits of remaining in your existing facility in Sandy Bay? And if not, and if you don’t, what is it about the city move that is beneficial over Sandy Bay facilities?
Rufus Black
The city brings the entire university together in one in one place. In today’s education, you want everybody together creating focus and vibrancy, the capacity for interdisciplinarity. And of course, centrally access accessibility. Remember, already more than a third of the university is in the city. We’re in one of those facilities today. A major part of our life is already here.
Journalist – Alexandra Alvaro
Mel Bush this morning asked you about those 2019 council minutes. You said that they were available on the website, they’re not. There actually the subject of an RTI, no-one knows where they are. Are you going to release them?
Rufus Black
Yes. Yes.
Journalist – Alexandra Alvaro
When?
Rufus Black
As soon as they can be put on the website. They’re publicly available.
Tasmanian Times
What is the community panel going to do? Are they going to produce a report or a series of recommendations? What’s the final product?
Rufus Black
Yes, it will produce a report and recommendations at the end of it. That can be used to guide the process .
Journalist – unidentified
UTAS is purchasing ad space on Google such that when you search Save UTAS campus, the first thing that comes up is an advertised official university website saying ‘We’ll miss Sandy Bay too’. What’s the motive behind that?
Rufus Black
I’m unaware of that.
