Cable car opponents could sway HCC outcome
PRO and anti kunanyi/Mt Wellington cable car groups are campaigning heavily this election to ensure the Hobart City Council is stacked with aldermen with views sympathetic to their causes.
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THE anti-cable car vote could sway the outcome of the Hobart City Council election.
Groups for and against the kunanyi/Mt Wellington proposal are campaigning heavily to get candidates supportive of their views elected.
Hobart voters have not only been bombarded with the usual posters and brochures but also have had to contend with sustained marketing from proponents of and objectors to the contentious project.
Aldermen voted in August for no cable car infrastructure to be built on council land after the Mt Wellington Cableway Company sought authorisation for a flora and fauna study at its proposed base site.
Lord Mayor Ron Christie and aldermen Eva Ruzicka, Philip Cocker, Anna Reynolds, Bill Harvey, Helen Burnet, Jeff Briscoe supported the motion denying the company council land access.
Deputy Lord Mayor Peter Sexton, Tanya Denison, Damon Thomas, Marti Zucco voted against the motion.
Election analyst Kevin Bonham said the vote was being used by groups to characterised where aldermen stood on the cable car proposal.
“These are based on not allowing cable car on public land, which isn’t necessarily an anti-cable car view,” he said
“There will be quite a few voters who won’t vote for anyone who is pro-cable car and there may be some interesting preference flows in that regard.”
An EMRS poll of 548 people in the Hobart City Council area revealed 22 per cent of respondents would vote based on their opposition to the cable car while 11 per cent would vote based on support for it.
A further 10 per cent listed the proposed development as a key issue but said they were neutral on the project.
The Mercury has asked the mayoral candidates for their position on the issue, but many are being careful of what they say because they may be barred from voting on a cable car development application if they appear to have prejudged it.
The rules under the aldermanic code of conduct appear unclear.
Short of having signed a petition in favour of or against a proposal, it would be very difficult to make a case of bias against an alderman
Mayoral candidate Mike Dutta openly opposes the cable car “because it will be against the wishes of the Aboriginal people”.
Alderman Reynolds said she had concerns based on promotional material in the absence of a formal proposal
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“Running a cable car over the Organ Pipes and building a large function centre on top of them will significantly detract from this much loved natural feature of Hobart,” she said.
Alderman Damon Thomas said he supported the concept of a cable car and the right of a proponent to bring their project to the council.
“I take no issue with the use of council land for cable car infrastructure subject to arm’s length negotiations between the proponent and council,” he said.
Lord Mayor Christie does not support the idea. “It is my strong belief the majority of Hobart community do not support a cable car,” he said.
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