Public say on stadium blocked; No say; Public still to be locked out of planning as amendment introduced to appease independents

Matt Maloney | The Saturday Examiner | June 24, 2023

AN AMENDMENT to the state’s Projects of State Significance approval process will give parliament a final say over projects, but not allow the public an appeal mechanism.

An amendment bill to the State Policies and Projects Act was introduced in parliament this week, as part of a deal with independents John Tucker and Lara Alexander, to give both houses a final vote on the proposed Macquarie Point stadium.

Under the legislation now, parliament can only vote to make an order for a development to be declared a Project of State Significance. From an order, an assessment is then made by the Tasmanian Planning Commission, followed by a recommendation for approval or otherwise.

Currently, parliament can approve or reject a final approval order for a Project of State Significance where that order is not in accordance with the recommendations in the assessment report.

Nelson independent MLC Meg Webb on Friday said the amendment bill missed the opportunity for judicial appeal through the process.

She said projects proposed by private proponents were exempt from additional parliamentary scrutiny.

“History tells us that both recent private proposals to commence the PoSS process – the Gunns’ pulp mill and Walker’s Ralphs Bay marina – generated considerable controversy with the community calling for more Parliamentary scrutiny, not less,” Ms Webb said.

Greens planning spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said the party supported the amendment, but added it never supported the legislation in the first place.

“We’ve always thought we should go through all of the planning processes,” she said. “There should be appeals for large projects just as much as small and medium-sized ones.”

Labor’s Josh Willie said all relevant information related to the stadium needed to be produced for parliament to make an informed decision.