Macquarie Point developers must take us on the journey

EDITORIAL: The seemingly endless delays at Macquarie Point have led to the mere mention of its name now being enough to draw an eye-roll. But there would have been little value in rushing this once-in-a-century opportunity.

Minister for State Growth Michael Ferguson at Macquarie Point with Macquarie Point Development CEO Mary Massina. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

IT is very good news indeed that the “final hurdle” for the redevelopment of Macquarie Point has finally been cleared, through the Tasmanian Planning Commission having endorsed the revised masterplan for the site. It is even better news that Macquarie Point Development Corporation boss Mary Massina says parcels of land could be put on the market by next year. It’s certainly not before time.

MACQUARIE POINT READY TO GO ON SALE

TALKING POINT: MAC POINT GROUNDWORK PAYS OFF

As we have observed here previously, the seemingly endless delays at the site have led to the mere mention of its name now being enough to draw an eye-roll. That’s a real shame. But as we have also said, this is a once-in-a-century opportunity to redevelop such a prime piece of inner-city almost-waterfront land. And so there would have been little value in rushing things.

The site itself has certainly had its challenges. As Ms Massina explained on our Talking Point pages yesterday, significant remediation was necessary due to the site’s history as a polluted former railyard. The TasWater treatment plant on the site will also need to be decommissioned and removed — something that is now hoped can happen by 2023. And finally the approvals have necessarily taken time, with multiple titles having to be transferred under one consolidated title to the development corporation.

But that being done, let’s now put our optimist hats on and take Ms Massina and State Growth Minister Michael Ferguson at their word when they say Tasmanians will now soon see significant — permanent — development actually start to happen on the site. While not before time, this will go a long way to winning back the community buy-in that is vital for a project of this scale and significance.

The Mona-led reset of the vision for the site that was released now three years ago excited the community. The seemingly endless delays since have done exactly the opposite. But the masterplan released earlier this year that was based on the Mona vision remains a solid set of guidelines for what should happen at Macquarie Point: a mix of exhibition, commercial and cultural facilities, and accommodation and tourism infrastructure — plus the retention of half the site for public space. There are also more recent suggestions/dreams that it could also be home to a covered stadium to host Tasmania’s AFL team and a high-performance centre for our state’s top professional athletes. How this pipedream might fit into the masterplan is something the Government should come clean about sooner rather than later. Some certainty on this will help the discussion.

And so hopefully this week does indeed mark a turning point, from the eye-roll-inducing preparatory work to the more exciting expressions-of-interest stage and on to the concrete actually being poured ahead of the site then being properly activated permanently.

One idea: that the Macquarie Point Development Corporation make it a condition for developers and investors expressing an interest in the site to agree that their development proposals are made public.

Ms Massina says she wants “to see the development unite and excite Tasmanians”. Taking the community on this next stage of the journey with her through a bold policy of openness would go a long way towards that goal. Shutting up shop again and hiding behind “commercial-in-confidence” will simply undermine it.