Review finds Tasmanian Planning Commission unsuitable for State of the Environment Report

As part of the State Policies and Projects Act 1993 the Tasmanian government must release an SoE every five years, which would be prepared by the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission.

But a review of the TPC from 2020 recommended removing "from the Act the TPC's role to prepare the State of Environment Report" despite highlighting "an urgent need" for an updated SoE.

READ MORE: AFL respond to premier's comments

It said the TPC "was not the appropriate body to prepare the SoE Report as it does not have the appropriate resourcing, skills, expertise, or capability to access and analyse the relevant data to effectively perform this role as the SoE has been constructed".

The review said the state's failure to prepare regular SoE reports had limited its ability to contribute to the National State of the Environment Report, released last week.

However, it also said SoE reporting had evolved significantly since the last Tasmanian report was prepared in 2009, and the new appropriate body to prepare the report depended on how the SoE data would be used.

READ MORE: Tasmania Police are searching for a person involved in an attempted armed robbery in Launceston

It recommended the Environment Protection Authority should oversee the report if the SoE informed environmental land management, the Department of Premier and Cabinet if guiding government decisions around cross-portfolio decisions, and the Planning Policy Unit for land use.

PMAT state coordinator Sophie Underwood, who wrote to the government in 2021 regarding the status of the state's SoE, said she was advised by then-Minister for Planning Roger Jaensch the "scope and purpose" of the report was being reviewed.

Ms Underwood said the report was an important process for "describing, analysing and communicating information" on the environment, but must be produced independently.

READ MORE: Noel Larsen of Tasmanian Feijoa Temptations has big plans for feijoas in the coming years

"It should be done by [the TPC] because because they are creating the planning schemes, they're also creating the planning scheme amendments, and they're also reviewing national parks management plans."

"Fundamentally, the planning system should be independent from government, but we've seen much more power given to the Planning Minister over major project legislation - it's a very concerning trend," Ms Underwood said.

Despite being required to provide an SoE every five years, the state government has not completed one since forming government in 2014.

READ MORE: Chamber of Commerce urges faster progress for sewer works

In a statement on Saturday Minister for Planning Michael Ferguson said although the TPC was not the most appropriate authority to complete the SoE, the government was undertaking a review to find the most suitable body for the work.

Mr Ferguson did not say why an SoE report had not been released between 2014 and the TPC Review in 2020, nor which Tasmanian agencies contributed to this year's national report.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: