EOI process underfire

Row over secrecy continues

TASMANIA’ S Office of the Co-ordinator General received 64 Expressions of Interest tourism proposals last financial year–nine of which are now fully operational.

The EOI process is aimed at giving private investors opportunities to develop appropriate tourism experiences in Tasmania but has come under fire from environmentalists and the general public for “selling off Tasmania’s wilderness.”

But State Growth Minister Michael Ferguson said the success of the EOI process spoke for itself. He said another 18 EOI investment proposals were under lease and licence arrangements.

“Those projects have seen a total of $92 min vested creating 2264 FT E jobs ,” Mr Ferguson told a budget estimate hearing this week. “In total the office has dealt with $673 min investment last financial year with $3bn in the pipeline.”

But Tasmanian Greens say the FOI process is flawed–as pointed out by the Auditor General in a report released in September–and its “opaque” operational model had alienated the public.

Leader Cassy O’Connor said there was a lack of Tasmanian Aboriginal and environmental representation on the assessment panel and its independent member had not been replaced despite a recommendation from the Auditor General.

Holding up an almost totally redacted document obtained under RTI, Ms O’ Connor claimed there were also flaws in the project scoring process and documents were unavailable for scrutiny.

Mr Ferguson also told the hearings new legislation would take effect next week to remove red tape and stream line the regulatory approvals process.

“This will minimise the burden of unnecessary regulation on businesses and reduce delays to approval processes to speed up work and keep Tasmanians employed,” he said.