Opinion Piece

Independent Murchison MLC Ruth Forrest said while she supported the principle of development assessment panels, the government had failed to consult properly with councils.”What I’ve heard very clearly from my local government areas, from LGAT and from a number of other stakeholders, [they] are quite concerned about the process,” Ms Forrest said. “It’s a matter that really needs to have community engagement in a really meaningful way.”The other thing that’s missing … is an appeals process,” she said.

The [Tasmanian] government seeks to remove community voices on land use, writes Allison Ritchie.

Tasmania cannot risk development at any cost, writes Brendan Blomeley.

“The mayors of greater Hobart have been accused of acting in their own “self-interest” after coming out against plans that could see them stripped of some planning powers for certain [development] projects.”

Felix Ellis’s Bill to remove individual planning decisions from local [Tasmanian] government is a real worry, writes Peter Boyer.

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 out councillors, removes appeal rights and ignores local community concerns.

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 year.

The independent panel members [DAPs] are generally pro-development and pro government of the day. They are anything but independent or apolitical.