Media release – Vica Bayley MP, Greens spokesperson for Veterans Affairs, 19 July 2024
RSL call for Government acknowledgement of stadium impacts on Cenotaph
The Tasmanian Greens note the increasingly strong words in correspondence from RSL Tasmania to the Premier and the clear call on him to publicly acknowledge the ‘desecration’ of the Cenotaph by the height and bulk of a Macquarie Point stadium.
Last week, preliminary designs revealed a 25% increase in the height of the stadium and the unequivocal loss of important sightlines to and from the Cenotaph. These sightlines and the ‘reverential ambience’ of the Cenotaph had previously been protected by height limits and other planning prescriptions that would apply to development at Macquarie Point, but these are abandoned under a Project of State Significance assessment process.
There are many reasons why a billion dollar stadium at Mac Point is both unpopular and unnecessary and its impact on the irreplaceable values of the Cenotaph are one of the most important ones.
Numerous times a year, veterans, their families, community members and political representatives gather at the Cenotaph to commemorate those who went to war. The prominent location and clear sightlines was a key reason why the location was chosen for Australia’s oldest state war memorial, 100 years old in 2025.
The loss of longstanding planning protections for the Cenotaph under the POSS process is why, at the request of the RSL, the Greens will introduce legislation that enshrines them in law.
Government shouldn’t ride roughshod over protected heritage values that are so critically important to the community. Our Bill would ensure that early assessment of any project’s impacts on the well-documented values of the Cenotaph is undertaken.
