After two days of grilling by the Greens and others in Parliament, the Premier has finally admitted he is looking at fast-tracking the stadium by using special legislation to directly approve the project.
This truly is Jeremy Rockliff’s Pulp Mill moment. The only way he could be more like former-Premier Paul Lennon right now is by growing a moustache.
The parallels with the Pulp Mill are truly remarkable. That project was highly controversial, and was put to a Projects of State Significance process to give it a leg up. But the project was so ill-advised even the weak POSS process identified major insurmountable problems. We’re seeing exactly the same thing happen with the stadium.
The only real difference between the Pulp Mill and the stadium is that Jeremy Rockliff appears prepared to go even further than Paul Lennon to get his vanity project built. Paul Lennon cooked up a special law with a corrupted assessment process for the Pulp Mill. It looks now like Jeremy Rockliff wants to legislate a direct approval for the stadium. It’s scandalous.
The fact Jeremy Rockliff is considering special rubber-stamp legislation is a stunning admission from him that the stadium can’t withstand the scrutiny of the community. He obviously wants to avoid the next steps, of public submissions, public hearings, and the final recommendation from the Planning Commission. Even if he won’t say it out loud, he clearly understands the stadium has so many insurmountable problems the Commission will have no choice but to recommend rejection.
With the Liberals now confirming they are considering direct approval legislation, Labor need to make their position clear. Dean Winter promised Tasmanians he would fully scrutinise the stadium, which must include the views of Tasmanians and experts on the TPC’s assessment report. Subverting the planning process at this point would be a broken promise.
