The State Government is proposing a developer friendly development assessment and approval process for World Heritage Areas, National Parks and other Reserves.

The proposed new ‘Statutory Environmental Impact Assessment Process’ for reserves will enable developers to ask the Minister for Parks to take developments out of the normal planning and environmental assessment process and be given to a Development Assessment Panel (DAP).

The DAP has all the power to assess and approve a development and can even change the management plan rules. Local councils will be removed from the approval process and the community’s right to appeal the decision is removed.The government is responding to the concerns of the development lobby who want a system that will guarantee their developments are approved even in World Heritage Areas, National Parks and other Reserves.

The developments that will be fast-tracked could include large tourism developments, wind farms, transmission lines and even government proposals such as the Tyndall Range huts.

The Tasmanian Liberal Government proposes legislation to empower the Minister for Planning to remove assessment and approval of developments from the normal local council process to be replaced by State-appointed Development Assessment Panels (DAPs), conducted by the Tasmanian Planning Commission. 

The Minister could remove assessment and approval of a development – at any stage in the council process – and transfer to DAPs.

This would allow property developers to bypass local councils and communities and remove elected councillors from having a say on the most controversial and destructive developments affecting local communities. 

DAP decisions would be final – there will be no right for the community to appeal the final decision to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Developments could only be appealed to the Supreme Court on an error in law.

The Tasmanian Liberal Government is also proposing the same type of process for urban/private land.