Bypassing councils and citizens

STATE PLANNING OVERHAUL

is a distinct whiff of immorality in the State Government push to abolish local government powers to regulate planning in their own jurisdictions, and to do it with indecent haste while the population is in lockdown with COVID-19 and cannot protest. It must be the biggest change to the balance between local and state powers of government since Federation and almost no one knows about it because the State Government doesn’t want them to. The three public meetings have been cancelled due to the virus. There is less than a week left for people to voice objections.

This is worse than sly, this is making love to the wife while the husband is chained to his bed in the room next door. Once this Bill goes through, there is nothing to stop the appointed minister, henceforth Tasmanian Planning Commission boss, from overruling a council or citizens on any planning issue, whether cable car, Fragrance skyscraper or gondolas in Cataract Gorge. These and others including Lake Malbena flights are specifically mentioned in the document the Government released to describe its legislation.

What do they have in common? They have already been resoundingly rejected by the people of Tasmania after passionate campaigns over months, sometimes years. Jonathan Bowden

Riverside

LISTED: Cable car protest 2018.

Major projects mean major change. The bigger the change the bigger the potential mistake. When you have the best place in the world, you want to make absolutely sure a major project goes through a thorough process to ensure it’s going to make things even better, and that’s not something you want to leave to just one panel appointed by the government of the day. Andrew Hejtmanek

Howden pliant projects would seek approval under the law and bypass normal process. A council could also apply to have projects declared Major Projects hence avoid taking responsibility for difficult decisions.

Councillors would not be seen to be doing the job for which they were elected when it really counts. Some councillors might relish that idea!

Andrew Wyminga Bicheno