Legislation will be introduced to parliament seeking the acquisition of public land owned by Hobart City Council, to facilitate a proposed cable car to the summit of Mount Wellington.
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Premier Will Hodgman and State Growth Minister Matthew Groom announced the draft laws on Sunday morning, on the back of an independent assessment conducted by the Tasmanian Development Board which recommended the cableway progress.
The company championing the cableway, Mt Wellington Cableway Company, has an estimated completion date of April 2020. The proposal still needs to undergo the planning application process independent of the government’s decision to acquire the land.
“We’ve always said that a cable car is an exciting concept and something that will add to the remarkable appeal that our state has as a tourism destination,” Mr Hodgman said.
Mr Groom said the proposed cableway “has the potential to bring significant investment to the state and create new jobs”.
“It has become clear that this particular proposal is stuck in a process with the Hobart City Council,” he said.
“The government has given careful consideration to how to address that and we’ve decided to introduce legislation into the parliament to resolve the land consent issues and allow this proposal to go through the planning process.”
Mr Groom emphasised that the state government was not contributing financially to the proposed cableway and that the project needed to “stand on its own two feet financially”.
The draft laws to acquire the public land mean the state government will act as landlord to the proposed cableway should a planning application be approved.
The draft laws will be released for public comment.
The Mt Wellington Cableway Company took to social media to welcome the decision, however the Tasmanian Conservation Trust director Peter McGlone said the proposal would be a “threat to the natural values and beauty of Mt Wellington”.