- Interview
ABC Interview: LGAT president says Tasmanian government to blame for bad planning legislation and it’s ‘their job to fix it’
Media Enquiries
Sophie Underwood
PMAT State Director
sophie_underwood@hotmail.com
0407 501 999
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ABC Mornings Thurs 14 Nov 2024
LISTEN HERE TO RADIO INTERVIEW
The Tasmanian government’s plan to create Development Assessment Panels that will remove local government from significant planning decisions is being strongly opposed by councils across Tasmania.
The president of the Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT), Mick Tucker, tells Leon Compton on ABC Tasmania Mornings that he’s angry and the changes are undemocratic.
“The consequences of taking local [councils] out of our community is absolutely horrendous…the actual idea that unless you have a lot of money in your pocket and you can go to the supreme court to appeal is disgraceful. We’re taking democracy completely out of this. We’re putting political intervention into the planning system…”
“The reality is we actually go through 12,000 development applications a year and we have about one per cent that go through to the appeal panels,” he says.
“We are dealing with bad state government legislation, they own it, it’s theirs, it’s a failure of the minister and the government and it’s their job to fix it and introduce fit-for-purpose planning legislation.”
Ways to Take Action
1. Make a Submission to #ScrapTheDap
Make a submission to scrap the State Government’s DAPs by Tuesday 12 November 2024, 5:00 pm AEST. It will only take a minute using PMAT’s submission guide below.
2. Contact your local Council/Councillors
Ask your local Council’s position on DAPs. In total 542 submissions were received in 2023 re DAPs on urban/private land with 515 (95%) against (clearly against: 15 community organisations, 484 individuals, 11 councils and 5 councils mostly against). In total, only 14 submissions were clearly in favour. Only four individual members of the public and one council supported the DAPs. The other supporting submissions were development-focused government departments and peak organisations for property development and related industries.
See Councillor contact details, including an easy-to-use group email option plus suggested copy and paste email text you can use:
3. Contact your State Parliamentarians
Speak with your State Parliamentarians on DAPs. See State Parliamentarians contact details, including an easy-to-use group email option plus suggested copy and paste email text you can use:
4. Add to the community discussion via talk back radio or text in:
ABC Statewide Mornings: 0438 922 936.
5. Add to the community discussion by writing letters to the Editor
Add to the community discussion by writing letters/articles to the Editor. See PMAT’s letter writing guide.
- The Mercury: mercuryedletter@themercury.com.au
- The Examiner: mail@examiner.com.au
- The Advocate: news@theadvocate.com.au
- Your local papers such as Meander Valley Gazette, Wynyard Pulse, Huon Valley News, New Norfolk and Derwent Valley News etc.
6. Talk to your family and friends
Talk to your family and friends about the future of your Council and the importance of local and transparent decision making and merits-based planning appeal rights for your local community.
7. Support PMAT and further information
See PMAT’s key concerns, recommendations and background information on DAPs
Subscribe to PMAT’s email updates
Support PMAT’s advocacy for robust and transparent planning with a donation
Related News & Media
Mercury Opinion Piece: Flawed DAP process won’t take politics out of the planning picture.
It appears they want [the state government] to create another process that offers developers an assured pathway to get big, controversial projects approved that cuts
PMAT Media Release: Proposed planning laws are anti-democracy, anti-transparency and will be catastrophic for ordinary Tasmanians
The Tasmanian Government is planning on pushing through legislation to empower the Planning Minister to remove assessment and approval of developments from the normal local
Mercury Opinion Piece: Bill diminishes critical checks and balances
Informative piece on DAPs published in The Mercury 07/11/24. Writers include Anja Hilkemeijer and Dr Phillipa McCormack who spoke at PMAT’s #SCRAPTHEDAP Public Meeting last
Mercury Opinion Piece: Development panels costly and ineffective
An open letter to Jeremy Rockliff by an ex-planning commissioner, Catherine Nicholson on the ineffectiveness of development assessment panels.
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