Central Highlands Council hosts special meeting to vote on Wild Drake’s controversial Lake Malbena proposal
UPDATED: The couple behind the Lake Malbena proposal say they will appeal the Central Highlands Council’s decision to block their helicopter-accessed luxury tourism development.
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UPDATED: THE couple behind the Lake Malbena proposal say they will appeal the Central Highlands Council’s decision to block their helicopter-accessed luxury tourism development.
Daniel Hackett said he would take the rejection of his Halls Island proposal — which has received state and federal approval — to the Resources Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal in “due course”.
“While we sympathise with the passion shown on the day, the council had a single, clear role: to assess the DA against the planning scheme,” Mr Hackett said.
“Despite the best efforts and advice of the council planner, and having the required information and resources, we feel strongly that a number of councillors failed in this role.”
Earlier today, tourism industry chief Luke Martin said the council had sided with the sentiment of a stacked public gallery in shutting down plans for Lake Malbena.
The Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania CEO said expert recommendations to the council about the benefits of the proposed development within the state’s Wilderness World Heritage Area had been overlooked in favour of resounding community cries against the proposal.
About 100 people packed the Bothwell Town Hall on Tuesday as six of nine councillors voted to reject Daniel and Simone Hackett’s tourism proposal.
“Contrary to the comments of some, the council’s decision ... demonstrates there are robust and appropriate planning and community consultation processes in place for all tourism proposals within Tasmania’s protected areas and World Heritage Areas, as there should be,” Mr Martin said in a statement.
“This process means there will be occasions like Tuesday where councils may err to the sentiment of a stacked public gallery over the recommendations of their own qualified planning experts.”
Premier Will Hodgman — who is also Parks, Heritage and Tourism Minister — has been among those to express disappointment over the council’s decision.
He yesterday said he understood there were strong grounds to appeal against the decision given the council had gone against the advice of its planner.
“The role of council is to assess the development application in accordance with the relevant planning scheme provisions. Other approval processes are not a matter for council,” Mr Hodgman said.
“This proposal has been subject to rigorous assessment by the Commonwealth, including consideration of over several hundred public and expert submissions, and found that it will not impact on matters of national environmental significance.”
Mr Martin also said the proponents had every right to appeal the council’s decision.
OVERNIGHT: THE Central Highlands Council on Tuesday rejected a development application for a helicopter-accessed standing camp within the state’s Wilderness World Heritage Area to cheers and applause at a fiery public meeting.
About 100 people filled the Bothwell Town Hall for the council’s special meeting on the Lake Malbena proposal — an issue Mayor Loueen Triffitt described as one of the most stressful her council had confronted, except for the recent bushfires.
Six of nine councillors voted against the proposal that would have seen four huts constructed on Halls Island within the Walls of Jerusalem National Park, citing elements of the planning scheme, including bushfire management, as reasons for their rejection.
Cr Triffitt was among those to ignore the advice of the council’s planner in blocking the proposal.
MORE:
BIG TICK FOR WILDERNESS CAMP PLANS ON LAKE MALBENA
HALLS ISLAND REZONED AFTER TOURISM PROPOSAL RECEIVED
COMPANY UNVEILS FIRST LOOK AT LAKE MALBENA PLAN
PROPONENTS PROMISE PUBLIC ACCESS TO HALLS ISLAND
The council’s vote ultimately means the development cannot proceed but proponent Daniel Hackett has the right to appeal the decision. The state and federal governments have previously given Mr Hackett’s plans their green light.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Hackett said he would spend the next several days assessing his options. He said he believed his development fit within the council’s planning scheme despite the six councillors’ arguments against.
“It’s not a surprise, the day, to be honest,” Mr Hackett said.
“It’s almost a question as to whether the council assessed it on the planning scheme or the sentiment of the people who turned up.”
Walkers, fishers and conservationists spoke against the proposal ahead of the council’s vote, with many voicing their concerns about the use of helicopters within the TWWHA. The proposal would have up to 240 flights into the Walls of Jerusalem each year.
Others were worried about the development application’s failure to include a bushfire management plan and a perceived lack of attention to the management of stormwater.
Cr Robert Cassidy said he had been vomiting with anxiety ahead of making the decision and many councillors expressed their fury at being left with the final call on the development.
Cr Triffitt said her council had been put in a “very difficult position” in assessing the proposal, which emerged from the State Government’s expressions of interest process.
“This is a precedent for the whole of Tasmania, not just the Central Highlands,” Cr Triffitt said.
“At stake is our beautiful area, our wilderness. Everything we have here we would like to keep instead of commercialising the area.
“It is everyone’s area and they should be able to enjoy it.”
Premier and Parks, Heritage and Tourism Minister Will Hodgman said he was disappointed in the council’s decision, which the Greens characterised as a rejection of the EOI process.
“The Government understands there are strong grounds to appeal the decision given the council’s own planning advice that the proposal complies with the local planning scheme,” Mr Hodgman.
EARLIER: PREMIER Will Hodgman says he is disappointed the Central Highlands Council has rejected the Lake Malbena proposal.
Mr Hodgman — who is also Parks, Heritage and Tourism Minister — said he understood there were strong grounds to appeal against the decision given the council had gone against the advice of its planner.
Proponent Daniel Hackett today said he was unsure whether he would appeal.
“The role of council is to assess the development application in accordance with the relevant planning scheme provisions. Other approval processes are not a matter for council,” Mr Hodgman said.
“This proposal has been subject to rigorous assessment by the Commonwealth, including consideration of over several hundred public and expert submissions, and found that it will not impact on matters of national environmental significance.”
The Greens said the council’s decision was a rejection of the State Government’s expressions of interest process, which invites unsolicited proposals for developments on public land, including within the Wilderness World Heritage Area.
EARLIER: SIX of nine Central Highlands councillors — including Mayor Loueen Triffitt — have rejected a proposal for a helicopter-accessed standing camp in the Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Cr Triffitt, Cr Anita Campbell, Cr Robert Cassidy, Cr Tony Bailey, Cr Julie Honner and Cr Anthony Archer this afternoon voted against approving the development application for the Halls Island proposal.
Those councillors, who voted against the advice of their planner, received hearty applause from attendees of the public meeting.
Many said they were concerned that it did not fit with the Parks and Wildlife Service’s standing camp policy.
Cr Cassidy said he had been “vomiting with anxiety” ahead of voting on the development application.
Many councillors said they were furious that the decision had been left with them after state and federal governments and departments had failed to do their “due diligence”.
The first council meeting I’ve attended with congratulatory screams at its conclusion #politas pic.twitter.com/RscxpRVuQe
— Emily Baker (@emlybkr) February 26, 2019
HUGE cheers as Mayor Lou Triffitt votes against the proposal.
— Emily Baker (@emlybkr) February 26, 2019
EARLIER: The Central Highlands Council mayor says the proposal for a helicopter-accessed luxury camp in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park has been one of the most stressful issues her council has ever confronted.
Loueen Triffitt spoke this morning ahead of a special council meeting at Bothwell Town Hall to vote on Wild Drake’s controversial Lake Malbena proposal.
More than 1340 people objected to the proposal and about 100 attended this morning’s council meeting.
All who spoke ahead of the council vote — which will take place this afternoon — were against the development.
Most objected because of the 240 helicopter flights that would chopper in tourists staying at the proposed camp.
Many were concerned about stormwater and bushfire management.
All who argued the proposal went against the values of the Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The council’s planner, Jacqui Tyson, has recommended the proposal be approved, because it has already been through the Parks and Wildlife Service’s Reserve Activity Assessment process.
Cr Triffitt’s daughter, Angela, spoke against the proposal partly because of a lack of consultation with the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre chief executive Heather Sculthorpe and Aboriginal Heritage Council chairman Rodney Dillon also spoke against the proposal.
MORE ON HALLS ISLAND:
NUMBER OF FLIGHTS FOR MALBENA TOURS REVEALED
LAKE MALBENA PROJECT UNDER FIRE
LAKE MALBENA PROPOSAL SET FOR COURT BATTLE
GALLERY: HALLS ISLAND STANDING CAMP PROPOSAL
Mr Dillon said the state’s Aboriginals had been ignored in the process “ but this is not the first time this has happened — it has happened for 200 years”.
“This site is an ancient site and once lost we will never have it back,” Mr Dillon said.
“There wouldn’t be an Aboriginal person in Tasmania who would agree with this proposal.”
Wild Drake owners Daniel and Simone Hackett are at the meeting and will speak after the public comments end.
The Lake Malbena proposal involves four huts built on Halls Island. It has been approved by the state and federal governments largely because it fits within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area management plan.
The State Government changed the plan specifically to allow for the development.
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