The Tasmanian Greens have unveiled their planning policy ahead of the March 3 state election, proclaiming it will “put people back into planning”.
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The party’s plan is to implement six separate “state policies” to serve as guidelines for planning decisions in the state.
These will cost roughly $7 million over four years, from 2018 to 2022.
The six policy planks are centred on: settlements, transport and infrastructure; climate change; biodiversity management; public consultation; health and wellbeing; and cultural preservation.
Greens planning spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said the Greens’ overall planning policy would “depend on people being able to have a say to plan for their future”.
“Our policy makes it better and safer to do business in Tasmania,” Dr Woodruff said.
“It gives assurance that the community and our wild places will be looked after and will be nurtured for the next hundred years or more.”
Dr Woodruff said the Greens would “amend” the Liberals’ statewide Tasmanian Planning Scheme, which allows for ministerial call-in powers to wrest control of development applications from councils.
It also gives the green light for development in national parks.
The Liberals established the scheme to create a more cohesive planning system, with an eye to reducing red tape and confusion around the state’s planning laws.
Dr Woodruff said her party would prohibit development in national parks, wind back call-in powers, empower the community to appeal planning decisions and further resource the Tasmanian Planning Commission to review building height limits and maximum permitted block sizes.
“The Liberals have brought in an exploitative, destructive planning scheme that was written by developers with development interests first,” she said.
“Our policy makes it better and safer to do business in Tasmania.”
But Planning Minister Peter Gutwein said the Greens were trying to "slam the brakes on the economy and destroy jobs”.
“True to form, the Greens want to stop any sort of development or investment,” he said.
“A vote for Labor is a vote for radical Greens policies like this, which will damage Tasmania.
“Why would anyone want to go back to that?”
The Planning Matters Alliance Tasmania launched a television advertisement on Sunday night, highlighting perceived issues associated with the TPS.
PMAT are hosting three public forums across the state in February: one at Eaglehawk Neck on February 14, one at Deloraine on February 21 and one at Bridport on February 22.
Visit the PMAT website for more information.
