Dutta warns against creating new stadium-specific legislation to bypass planning panel

A Hobart councillor fires a warning to the state government, who is searching for ways to forge ahead with an AFL stadium at Macquarie Point following a scathing planning report.

Hobart's proposed AFL stadium at Macquarie Point. Picture: Macquarie Point Development Corporation

A Hobart City Council report has raised serious concerns about any move by the state government to abandon its Project of State Significance assessment of the Macquarie Point stadium and introduce special legislation.

The report by council officers, to be discussed at the council’s planning authority committee meeting on Wednesday, says special legislation “could speed up approvals but at the cost of transparency, legal certainty, financial credibility and public trust”.

Committee chair Mike Dutta said council officers recommended retaining the PoSS process.

“This will ensure that, like all projects in Hobart, the stadium development is properly assessed from a land use planning perspective and that the community has the opportunity to provide input and have their voices heard,” he said.

“It is not fair or reasonable to have that process abandoned and the PoSS process should be followed right through to the end.

“People should be able to have their say.”

Hobart City Council alderman Mike Dutta. Picture: Kenji Sato

Council officers recommended the council engage with MPs to outline the implications of the abandoning the PoSS process in favour of special legislation which was flagged by Premier Jeremy Rockliff after a scathing Planning Commission panel paper.

Mr Dutta said the council had spent $150,000 on expert advice about the stadium.

“The council made such an investment in good faith to provide an impartial response to the proposal in the knowledge that such information would be considered in the decision-making process,” he said.

The council officer’s report says that abandoning the PoSS process in favour of development-specific legislation for the Macquarie Point Stadium — or any major project — would have several key implications.

It said public consultation was required under the PoSS process but special legislation “runs the real likelihood of overriding or weakening this scrutiny”.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“As a key stakeholder and as an authority with clear infrastructure implications with the proposal it potentially provides us with little opportunity to have our interests rightly accounted for and therefore protected,” the report said.

“Special legislation is expected to significantly limit public input and environmental/social impact assessments.

“If the government overrides standard planning laws, legal challenges could arise from affected parties (e.g., interest groups).

“This approach could set a precedent for bypassing established planning frameworks, leading to a loss of trust in governance processes.”

Officers said special legislation could be seen as ignoring public concerns and undermining democratic processes and if the legislation was seen as “rushed or unfair” it would diminish the project’s social licence.

“The PoSS process would, if completed, provide Parliament with a robust assessment of the proposal and provide it with the most informed evidence of options to mitigating impacts and maximising the benefits of such a proposal.”

The planning committee meeting starts at 4pm.

Originally published as Dutta warns against creating new stadium-specific legislation to bypass planning panel