New group calls on State Government to expand the Macquarie Point redevelopment precinct

A NEW group of experts has warned against rushing the redevelopment of Macquarie Point for the sake of achieving a quick result.

Panorama of Hobart from the CSIRO headquarters at Castray Esplanade in the foreground and Macquarie Point in the middle distance.

A WISELY redeveloped Macquarie Point could attract prestige waterfront development and provide some relief to Hobart’s traffic woes, a planning lobby group says.

The key to the site’s success lies in finding a commercially viable development the city really needs, and not succumbing to pressures from those who want immediate development, the newly-formed N.C.K. Evers Network believes.

The group of eminent former government and public policy specialists — named after respected former bureaucrat and politician Nick Evers, who died in 2013 — includes Bob Annells, Damian Bugg, Don Challen, Dan Norton, Tony Pedder, Greg Ray and Mike Vertigan.

They are calling on the State Government to expand and extend the Macquarie Point redevelopment precinct to include the harbourside shoreline.

They want the site extended to cover the waterfront from Macquarie Wharf 6, north along the foreshore bordering the Cenotaph and taking in the Hobart Regatta grounds, the shipyard and the former HMAS Huon naval base.

“This would turn the currently restricted redevelopment area into a stretch of premium waterfront real estate with improved potential to attract prestige development,” the network said.

“Potentially, it could also help ease Hobart’s traffic problems by delivering commuters by both ferry and light rail onto the doorstep of the city.”

EDITORIAL: WATERFRONT VISION NEEDED

Macquarie Point Development Corporation chief Mary Massina said in February a formal partnership with Aboriginal groups would be established to guide the development of a Truth and Reconciliation Art Park there.

The corporation has spent $15 million of a $45 million Federal Government allocation on remediating the blue-chip 9.3 hectare site on the Hobart CBD threshold.

A City Deal being negotiated with the Federal Government is tipped to include cash for a $40 million Antarctic and science base on the site.

Hobart Lord Mayor Ron Christie has suggested turning part of the site into an interim recreational vehicle park.

A development application for office and commercial space at Macquarie Point is being prepared and the State Government develops legislation to clarify planning rules for the site.

Macquarie Point is worth too much to rush

WHO’S WHO IN THE NETWORK

BOB ANNELLS: Former chairman of Forestry Tasmania; TasRail; VicTrack; Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre; Tourism Tasmania; and Northern Territory Tourism.

DAMIAN BUGG QC: Former Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution; Tasmanian Director of Public Prosecutions; and Chancellor of University of Tasmania.

DON CHALLEN: Chairman of Motor Accidents Insurance Board; former head of Tasmanian Treasury.

DR DAN NORTON: Board member of Infrastructure Australia; chairman of TasNetworks; chairman of WIN Connect and former chairman of Forestry Tasmania.

TONY PEDDER: Former chairman of the Bonney Group of Companies; former commissioner of Transport Tasmania; former secretary of Departments of Parks, Wildlife & Heritage and Transport & Works.

GREG RAY: Principal of Timmins Ray public relations; former managing director of Hill and Knowlton (Australasia); former director of WPP Australia; and former chairman of Australian Political Reference Service.

DR MIKE VERTIGAN: Chairman of Gas Market Reform Group; former head of Treasury and Finance Victoria; former head of Tasmanian Treasury; and former chancellor of the University of Tasmania.