Media release – Jeremy Rockliff, Premier, Acting Minister for Planning, 18 July 2023
TAKING THE POLITICS OUT OF PLANNING
The Rockliff Liberal Government will take the politics out of planning decisions to improve certainty, transparency and the effectiveness of planning across Tasmania.
Premier and Acting Minister for Planning Jeremy Rockliff said the government would introduce new legislation to allow for some planning decisions to be made by independent expert Development Assessment Panels (DAP).
“We will take the politics out of planning by ensuring that decisions are driven by the rules and not the vested interests or personal biases of individual councillors,” the Premier said.
“There’s too many examples where critical land, housing or other projects are being stopped or delayed by ideologically motived, party-aligned councillors, and this is not good for Tasmania.
“Let me be clear, this legislation will not change Tasmania’s planning rules. Councils will still undertake assessments and the community will still have their say, as they always have.
“This is simply about providing a second decision-making option, where the politics is removed from planning.
“This initiative will help us to deliver our target of 10,000 homes by 2030, and meet Tasmania’s affordable housing needs, by reducing unnecessary delays.
“In meeting this target, we committed to taking advice from industry, our community housing provider partners, Homes Tasmania and those engaging in our planning system to deliver the housing Tasmania needs. We heard loud and clear they need certainty in a pathway.”
Under the proposal, proponents would be able to opt-in and choose whether a council or a panel makes the final decision on their project. Similarly, councils would also have the option of referring the final decision, enabling them to better advocate for their community. Panels would be determined by the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission.
The type and scale of projects eligible for the new process will be determined as we develop legislation, but are expected to include housing, social housing, large-scale developments and other proposals of community interest. A value floor will also be implemented for non-prescribed project, including projects valued over $10 million in urban centres and over $5 million in rural areas.
Premier Rockliff said this was the next step in the Government’s strong planning agenda.
“We are planning for Tasmania’s future, and we are planning for growth, this legislation will be the next step in our long-term plan to achieve this,” Premier Rockliff said.
“When we came to Government in 2014, we said we would deliver a single-state-wide planning scheme, and we have. There are now 21 councils on board, providing councils, planners, developers and the community with greater certainty, consistency and transparency.
“We have introduced the Major Projects process for large scale, complex infrastructure, energy and industry projects, which was key to delivering the critically important new Bridgewater Bridge in the south and is being used to assess the NE wind farm project in the north.
“Now, we are taking the next sensible step by introducing independent expert panels that will further improve the effectiveness of planning across Tasmania.
“The new legislation will give the community and developers the confidence that they need in our planning system, so they can invest with certainty, and we can continue to meet the needs of our growing population.”
Draft legislation will be out for consultation later this year, and it is anticipated it will be introduced to Parliament at the start of 2024.
Media release – Local Government Association of Tasmania, 18 July 2023
Local government association disappointed by the lack of consultation on Government’s proposed planning reforms
The Government’s statement today of significant changes to how some development applications will be assessed has come as a complete surprise to the local government sector.
LGAT President and Break O’Day Council mayor Mick Tucker said “it is extremely disappointing that the Premier has made this announcement today with no prior consultation with our sector”.
The high-profile cases of councillors making controversial decisions on development applications represent a very small proportion of total developments.
The Government’s own Future of Local Government Review has noted that the proportion of council planning decisions that go to appeal is about one percent state-wide and that the decisions made by elected representatives were no more likely to be appealed than those by council officers.
It is the historical lack of state-level planning policy that has resulted in councils bearing the full brunt of public criticism on development problems.
While the Government is finally investing resources into developing planning policies and regional strategies, it is too late to deal with the development pressures our state is experiencing.
“Council and state government planners are working through the largest planning reform agenda in our state history. This comes at the same time as growth pressures we have not seen before,” Mayor Tucker said.
“Why then is this reform needed now, when Tasmania is already undergoing the largest planning reform of its planning system in its history?” he said.
Media release – Rosalie Woodruff MP, Acting Greens Leader, 18 July 2023
— untitled —
Jeremy Rockliff’s push to allow developers to bypass councils in the planning process is an affront to local democracy, and totally unnecessary.
Time and time again across the last decade we’ve seen the Liberals making corporate profits their number one priority. This decision is just another example of the same.
If the Liberals wanted some clean political air on local government, they’re going about it the wrong way. The community reaction to forced mergers shows just how much Tasmanians from across this island value their local representation.
Media release – Planning Matters Alliance Tasmania, 18 July 2023
Removing democracy from planning decisions
The Rockliff government’s surprise decision to create legislation that gives developers the option to bypass local councils as the decision maker on planning applications represents a weakening of planning rules and the sidelining is democratic process.
Just three months ago, in the face of community and council opposition, the government committed to defer consultation over and consideration of this concept.
“During the local government review process, the key concerns we heard were the forced amalgamation of councils and the stripping of their role as planning authority,” said Sophie Underwood, State Director of the Planning Matters Alliance Tasmania (PMT).
“Yesterday we welcomed Premier Rockliff’s abandonment of the forced amalgamation agenda, but today, we condemn this new proposal and call on elected members in the Parliament to oppose it.
“Make no mistake, this is a developer-friendly move that will alleviate local communities and lead to poor planning decisions.
“This proposal is based on a flawed argument that planning is politicised by council and councillors. Councils have diligently performed their role as Planning Authority and if a flawed decision is made, proponents and representors have the recourse to appeal.
“Bypassing council takes democracy and local decision making out of planning decisions.
“This looks like a face saving reaction to the realisation that its local government reform agenda was unpopular and ill directed. It is aimed at appeasing developers and making it look as though the government has a vision for the future.
“The reality is, this will skew planning in favour of developers and cut out the most important people in planning decisions the actual people who form the fabric of Tasmania’s unique communities.
Luke Edmunds MLC, Shadow Minister for Local Government and Planning, 18 July 2023
More planning talk, but where’s the planning walk?
Today’s announcement by Premier, and now also Acting Planning Minister Jeremy Rockliff is nothing more than a desperate attempt to change the narrative and distract from his flailing and failing government.
While Labor welcomes the intention to speed up the development process, the reality is that we’ve heard this promise before from the Liberals and after 10 years of their government, we still haven’t seen any progress.
What’s happened to the “faster, cheaper, fair and simpler” statewide planning scheme they’ve talking about for nearly a decade?
Nothing. Under the Liberals 15,561 lots of residential zoned land are sitting vacant across the state and just last week ABS data revealed the number of new houses starting to be built in Tasmania was at a five-and-a-half year low.
In the Liberals’ haste to rush this policy out the door, they have neglected to provide any real detail about how it work, raising more questions than answers.
From what we do know, the majority of planning decisions will still go through the same process they do now under the Liberals’ planning scheme that makes it too hard to build a home.
The Premier says “There’s too many examples where critical land, housing or other projects are being stopped or delayed by ideologically motived, party-aligned councillors, and this is not good for Tasmania.”
Can he name some?
Until this legislation comes before the parliament, Tasmanians have no reason to believe any real change will occur.
It was also interesting to note that this announcement was made on the run in the absence of Planning Minister Michael Ferguson.
With such little detail confirmed, why did it have to be announced now?
Was it to distract from their local government backflip just two days ago or is it a sign of something bigger afoot?
Media release – Ted Cutlan, Spokesperson, Residents Opposed to the Cable Car, 18 July 2023
New Planning Body – Emasculating Councils
The Premier Jeremy Rockliff claims that too many development proposals are held up or opposed in councils across our state but he is ignoring the reality that most of these fail because they do not meet the relevant planning scheme.
The cable car is a prime example of a project which was rejected by the community then rejected by the Carlton and United Breweries, then rejected by the Hobart City Council and finally rejected comprehensively by the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The project failed because it did not meet the requirements of the planning laws.
“This latest proposal from a dying government is yet another attempt to reduce the role of local government and thereby reduce the public’s input into decision making around developments that directly affect them.”
“Poorly designed proposals which do not meet the community expectations or planning scheme requirements, like the cable car will always fail”
“Instead of looking for more ways to bypass proper scrutiny and reduce the public’s say in planning we would call on the government to work to protect our wonderful environment such as kunanyi by expediting the review into the Wellington Park Management Plan and including proper consideration of the Aboriginal heritage values.”
