The Meander Valley mayor Wayne Johnston was among people in the municipality who did not receive a survey about the siting of the $270 million Northern Regional Prison.
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Mr Johnston said that he had not received a copy of the survey being undertaken as part of a Social and Economic Impact Study for the state government.
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"I have been in the shearing shed today and three out of the four of us there did not receive the survey," he said.
The Examiner has also spoken to other long-term residents of the Meander Valley municipality who did not receive the survey.
Survey forms were addressed "To the Householder" care of an address rather than by the householder's name.
Mr Johnston's statement comes after Westbury Residents Against the Prison claimed the survey was a waste of taxpayers' money.
Corrections Minister Elise Archer said the survey had been conducted in accordance with industry best practice and professional standards. "The postal survey was posted to more than 8500 households in the Meander Valley Local Government area in mid-March," Ms Archer said.
"In excess of 120 additional surveys have also been provided to eligible people upon request, either to replace original surveys that were reported as not received or to allow additional adults in a household to have their say."
"We are aware that there were some delays in delivery of the surveys due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, as such, the original closing date was extended to allow adequate time for everyone who wanted to have their say to receive, complete and return their survey.
Ms Archer said the survey design and process was undertaken by an independent consultant, Myriad Research which was engaged by SGS Economics.
"It is important to remember the postal survey was just one element of a comprehensive community consultation program that has been undertaken since September 2019," she said.
Ms Archer said consultation also included a random phone survey of Westbury residents, public information sessions, a public meeting and three days of face to face meetings with residents.
"There were also numerous other visits to Westbury by myself, the Premier and local members," she said.
WRAP president Linda Poulton said on Tuesday that she was aware that numerous people had not received a single survey and did not do so even after contacting the Northern Prison Team.
"For those that did, there was a great deal of confusion about how to return the survey in a way that protected their privacy but did not invalidate their response," she said.
Have your say with a letter to the editor:
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
