A coordinated and robust assessment process for major projects in Tasmania is one step closer closer with the Land Use Planning and Approvals Amendment (Major Projects) Bill 2020 today tabled in Parliament.
This is vitally important legislation that will replace the flawed and previously unused Projects of Regional Significance process and form part of our recovery process from the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting investment and creating jobs for Tasmanians at a time when we need them most.
It will provide a contemporary, independent assessment framework for development proposals of significant scale, complexity and strategic importance, providing clarity and certainty for investors and the community while complementing Tasmania’s other planning assessment and approvals processes.
And as we have consistently said, there are no fast-tracks, short-cuts or easy routes and any suggestion it will be used to bypass normal processes to approve controversial projects is simply wrong.
The assessment of a Major Project is undertaken by a panel of independent experts, specially convened by the Tasmanian Planning Commission, and provides for multiple opportunities for public consultation.
The tabling of this legislation follows three separate stages of community consultation to ensure the legislation strikes the right balance and ensures we have the right framework in place to attract investment and assess major projects in a coordinated way.
The last round of consultation, which was extended by five weeks, received more than 1000 submissions. The Government has considered each of these carefully and refined the final Bill based on that feedback.