Cable car over big hurdle

A CABLE car on kunanyi/ Mount Wellington has moved a step closer to reality after the Upper House passed controversial legislation to acquire land at the pinnacle from the Hobart City Council.

The proponents will now be able to lodge a development application for the cable car without first receiving consent from the council — the owner of the land — to do so.

Hobart MLC Rob Valentine was the only MP to vote against the Bill in the Legislative Council, warning that the distortion of planning laws “should not be something we engage in”.

Acting Leader of the Government in the Upper House Leonie Hiscutt said the cable car proposal put forward by the Mount Wellington Cableway Company would create 200 jobs in construction and a further 50 full-time jobs in operation, bringing in $54 million in investment.

“It’s time for such a proposal to be assessed on its merits through the planning system,” she said.

Murchison MLC Ruth Forrest said she was “reluctantly” supporting the Bill, while Mersey MLC Mike Gaffney said he was “critical” of the legislation.

Mr Gaffney said the Bill had the potential to set a dangerous precedent for developers to try to influence the government to get projects up, instead of going through the planning process.

Ms Forrest questioned whether the Government should reconsider the landowner consent requirements as a whole, rather than just for the cable car project. Landowner consent is required for developments proposed on publicly owned land, but not those on privately owned land.

“I do reluctantly support a Bill that subverts the [planning] process that’s there,” Ms Forrest said.

Mr Valentine also questioned whether Tasmania’s Aboriginal community had been consulted on the legislation.

Mrs Hiscutt responded that the Aboriginal community had the opportunity to review the Bill when it was consulted on through the Department of State Growth website before being brought to Parliament.

The Hobart City Council would still need to approve a cable car development through the statutory planning process.

The Bill passed the Upper House second reading without amendment, and will be read a third time next week before being passed into law.