Talking point: Tasmania’s recovery depends on well planned major projects

The Major Projects Bill allows no fast-tracks or short-cuts, despite claims, says Roger Jaensch

Minister for Planning Roger Jaensch says the proposed Major Projects legislation is a co-ordinated approach assessing projects of significance, which Tasmania needs now more than ever. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

TASMANIA’S recovery from COVID-19 will rely on significant investment in large, complex, job-creating projects that provide economic stimulus and long-term opportunities for our state.

As the building blocks of our recovery, these major projects need to be well planned, thoroughly assessed and strongly supported by the community and relevant regulators.

This is what our Major Projects Bill aims to deliver, and we are committed to getting this important assessment process right.

The Bill has been in development since 2015, and is now in its third round of public consultation, which closes on May 15, after 10 weeks of exhibition, briefings and public submissions.

It improves and replaces the Projects of Regional Significance process that has been part of planning legislation since 2009, but has never been used.

Importantly, most elements of the Major Projects assessment process already exist in Tasmania’s planning system. The proposed process simply co-ordinates them, in the case of complex projects that need to be assessed and approved at multiple points.

And it ensures all assessment and approval decisions are made by the relevant regulators, statutory bodies and expert panels appointed by the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission — not politicians. This is the process Tasmania needs now, more than ever, and we want people to know how it works, because public confidence in how decisions are made is important.

And this is why it is so disappointing that a vocal few have set out to misrepresent the Major Projects Bill, and mislead the public about the government’s motivations for proposing it.

In these uncertain times, people deserve to know the truth. To be clear, the Major Projects process provides no fast-tracks, short-cuts, or easy routes, and it cannot be applied to just any project.

It was developed solely to manage the assessment of projects that are “major” in terms of their significant scale, complexity and strategic importance.

Any suggestion that it will be used to bypass normal processes to approve controversial projects for political reasons is simply wrong, and offensive. And it is irresponsible, particularly in the current circumstances, to try to scare and mislead people in this way.

Assertions that projects like Halls Island/Lake Malbena, Cambria Green, and skyscrapers will be fast-tracked and approved under this process are clearly intended to stir controversy, not to inform.

In fact, these proposals would be unable or highly unlikely to be considered for the Major Projects process.

The Mt Wellington cable car proposal is already being assessed by the Hobart City Council, and the government has repeatedly said it has no plans to refer it to the Major Projects process. If it did want to intervene, it would have already used the “call in” powers under the existing Projects of Regional Significance process.

Importantly, the Major Projects legislation does not give the minister any role in the actual assessment or approval of a proposal.

Proposals can be referred to the Major Project process by a council, the project proponent, or the minister. Once a proposal is considered to satisfy the eligibility criteria to be assessed as a Major Project, the minister’s role ends.

All this provides is permission for a project to enter the assessment process.

Once declared, assessments of Major Projects do not “bypass” the Tasmanian Planning Commission or any existing regulators.

The assessment of a Major Project is undertaken by a panel of independent experts convened by the Tasmanian Planning Commission. Panel members include a delegate of the commission itself, a representative of the relevant council(s), and other experts appointed directly by the commission depending on the nature of the project.

Existing regulators conduct their own assessments and approvals within the Major Projects process and time frames.

The process also contains public consultation, including public hearings, using the same processes currently used by the commission when considering planning scheme amendments.

A lot of work has gone into developing our draft Major Projects assessment process, over several years. It is an independent, rigorous and comprehensive process for assessing large and complex projects — nothing more, nothing less.

As Minister for Planning, I have been encouraged by the level of public interest in the draft Bill, but disappointed that much of that interest seems to reflect the misleading comments of a few, not the content of the draft Bill itself.

That is why I extended the consultation period by five weeks, and encourage anyone who is genuinely interested in how we make decisions about major projects in Tasmania to visit the website, read the draft Bill, request a briefing, ask their own questions and have their say, in their own words, by May 15.

I am genuinely interested in hearing from you.

Liberal MHA and Minister for Planning Roger Jaensch.