Government cracks down on planning appeals

The state government will ban third-party appeals against council planning decisions, fulfilling a 2014 election promise. Here’s why.

Minister Felix Ellis. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The state government will ban third-party appeals against council planning decisions, fulfilling a 2014 election promise.

Minister for Housing, Planning, and Consumer Affairs Felix Ellis said too many projects had been held up in Tasmania because of people who “relentlessly oppose sensible, appropriate developments for the sake of stalling progress”.

He said the planned reforms would mean a person aggrieved by a planning decision would be able to lodge an appeal to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Around one per cent of development applications are subject to appeal and 80 per cent of those are resolved by mediation, government figures show.

The change announced by Mr Ellis is expected to affect up to five of more than 5000 development applications lodged in the state each year.

“This legislation will mean that appeals can only be lodged by someone who is directly and adversely impacted by the planning decision – not well-funded activist groups and anti-everything organisations set up to oppose Tasmania moving forward,” Mr Ellis said.

A government briefing note produced in September last year said the reform was last considered in 2018-19 but notes “the proportion of appeals did not warrant any change to the requirements for third party appeals”.

“The scale of the problem created by third-party appeal at that time was not evident by the data,” it said.

Former South Arm Irrigation Scheme CEO Mary Massina. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones.

The briefing note was prepared for then Housing Minister for Housing and Planning Micheal Ferguson ahead of a meeting with then CEO of the South Arm Irrigation Scheme Mary Massina on September last year.

Supreme Court action brought by the Tasmanian Conservation Trust was challenging permits for a golf course to be served by the scheme.

It said reforms already introduced had already reduced avenues for third-party appeals, including the 2016 State Planning Provisions overseen by the Tasmanian Planning Reform Taskforce that Ms Massina chaired.

“Latest appeal data is similar to that from 2018-19, with only around one per cent of applications being appealed and with a significant proportion resolved through

mediation,” it said.

Mr Ellis said the government was determined that the planning system gave everyone a “fair go”.

“At the moment, anyone who has lodged a representation in relation to a development application can appeal a planning decision – even if they live on the mainland or the other end of the state and have no connection to the proposal.

“This change will ensure that those directly affected by, or with a longstanding interest, can continue to appeal planning decisions, but will prevent baseless objections that tie projects up in delays and red tape.”

Originally published as Government cracks down on planning appeals