Vica Bayley MP, Greens Planning spokesperson, 9 January 2024

Liberals’ Stadium Assessment Stitch Up Stinks

New information about the Rockliff Government’s proposed Mac Point Stadium published by the Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC) reveals a profound conflict of interest. The conflict will create serious bias in the Project of State Significance (POSS) assessment process for this unpopular billion-dollar project.

Public consultation closed on the draft Assessment Guidelines yesterday, and letters between the TPC and Premier were published as part of that process.

The correspondence reveals confirmation from the Premer that the Macquarie Point Development Corporation (MPDC) is effectively the proponent of the stadium on behalf of Government.

This is extremely disturbing, given MPDC is also responsible for developing a key component of the assessment process – the new Mac Point Precinct Plan against which the proposal is to be assessed. There is a clear conflict of interest and bias that will undermine confidence in the POSS process.

The TPC’s draft Assessment Guidelines confirm there will are no other objective assessment criteria for the stadium. This means the only concrete and transparent provisions the stadium will be assessed against will be written by the stadium proponent itself – the Macquarie Point Development Corporation.

With MPDC operating at the direction of their Minister, and no other objective measures against which the proposal will be considered, the Liberals are effectively writing their own stadium’s assessment criteria.

This is perverse, and the community will rightly find it disturbing. If you build a house, you don’t get to tell your local council the rules they have to use for your planning application.

The correspondence from the TPC to the government also asks for more information and questions the draft status of the Mac Point Precinct Plan before the POSS process has even commenced. This shows just how shambolic the Liberals’ stadium proposal is, and the Rockliff Government’s willingness to do planning and development on the run.

If the Liberals were serious about the stadium going through a proper, objective assessment, they should at least allow the existing planning rules for the Macquarie Point site to be the measure against which the panel assesses the stadium project. As the days go by, the stadium stench only spreads.

The Greens full submission to the proposed guidelines for the stadium is available here.