Ms O’CONNOR – Quick question, yes. Thank you. Minister, we’ve just heard that the housing medium‑to‑high‑density grants have been – well, we might just say ‘taken’ by the Treasurer and put over in the first homeowners grant. Is this a policy decision, given that the government’s stated policy is to expand the urban growth boundary, which will lead to more subdivisions, more congestion, more sprawl, and if you read the climate risk assessments, more risk to people who are living on wild bush‑urban interfaces – is it policy for government to walk away from density?
Mr VINCENT – It certainly is not. I might have Mr Reid talk a little bit more about the TPPs as we swing into Planning, if that’s all right, Chair, because that answers –
CHAIR – We might get into Planning if it sits there.
Mr VINCENT – This answers some of that question for you on our commitment to controlling that urban sprawl, and our concentration on looking at the density within urban development now. That’s why I thought it matched up.
Ms O’CONNOR – Happy to hear briefly from Mr Reid – is fine, but I also want to talk to you about the fact that University of Tasmania sold the K&D site to a car yard dealership, despite all of the imperatives to improve density, livability, public open spaces, commercial opportunities on that site; somehow a public institution, having had conversations at some level with governments, has sold this prime site to a car yard dealer, which we have plenty of.
CHAIR – That’s because with the congestion, you have to have somewhere to park the car, surely.
Ms O’CONNOR – Probably, yes, thinking ahead, we’ve got them all over Campbell and Argyle Streets. The government’s done nothing about that. The planning scheme is not adapting or elastic enough to deal with that. I’m just expressing the frustration on behalf of a lot of people in Hobart who want to see us have a highly livable city, where medium density and high density to an acceptable standard is the norm rather than something that seems to be falling over at the first hurdle. Some of those beautiful apartments they were going to build up there on Macquarie Street: gone. The K&D site: apparently gone. Minister, what are you doing to modernise our city and make sure we are delivering –
CHAIR – Is this a planning issue?
Ms O’CONNOR – No, it’s a housing question.
Mr VINCENT – I was trying to roll it into planning.
Ms O’CONNOR – But until you get the density question right, you can’t encourage investment in it if there’s regulatory – and that is a planning question – but if there are these obstacles to it, it is so frustrating. The opportunity was there, and it seems to have been lost.
Mr VINCENT – The elastic nature that you referred to, of the planning scheme, is what I’ve spoken about a couple of times today, that we are starting to look at now – except for one council, being Kingborough, coming on board with it over the next few months, but the TPPs as I referred to, does show a different commitment to the higher density being reviewed with a lot of things. I will just ask Mr Reid to expand on that, which does relate to exactly what you were talking about.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you.
Mr VINCENT – Discussions on K&D I haven’t been directly involved with because of the private nature of –
Ms O’CONNOR – You should have been.
Mr VINCENT – the discussions.
Ms O’CONNOR – We’ve talked to you about this.
Mr VINCENT – But, yes, and there are still discussions taking place in regard to that site.
Ms O’CONNOR – With Homes Tasmania?
Mr VINCENT – Homes Tasmania are having discussions.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you.
Mr REID – The release of the TPPs and the southern strategy has an increasing focus on delivery of housing across the full spectrum, greenfield like you talk about as well with regards to the urban growth boundary, but also density targets that under the previous strategies we haven’t quite got there in terms of the density targets that we’re looking for.
Ms O’CONNOR – There hasn’t been the will or the resourcing.
Mr REID – Probably one of the things that would be really good to point to, is the next set of reforms which I think would be really important, is the outcomes of the Improving Residential Standards review that was conducted last year and released earlier this year, which points to a whole raft of changes in the residential zones to promote density, to increase height availability, increase the diversity and the lot sizes and things like that within the primary residential zones. We’re embarking on a piece of work at the moment and working up, potentially, amendments to the state planning provisions that will allow a greater array of choice and density, in particular in the residential zones, from the rural living zone all the way through to the inner‑residential densities.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, Mr Reid. Can I just ask you, and I’m happy to move on after this: what is the timing on the review that will lead to potential planning scheme amendments, and will those amendments be consulted, because governments seem to have a problem with consulting people around some of these big changes?
Mr REID – The review’s actually been done already. There’s been work done by ERA and associates that has provided a raft of projects that have fallen out of that review and we’re already working as we speak on potential amendments around, particularly, residential standards that are going to make the transition through the planning scheme for higher density and residential use in the right areas a lot easier. As part of the statutory process to amend the SPPs, there’ll be a consultation process and of course, assessment by the TPC.
Ms O’CONNOR – Timing?
Mr REID – Probably early next year will be the first side of the first tranche of changes that we’re looking to do, but there’s certainly work underway. It’s certainly work that we’ve had on our radar for quite a period of time. It’s just being able to get it right up the priority list to where it needs to be to be implemented.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you.
Ms THOMAS – Can I clarify the short‑stay thing? I think the Chair touched on this, minister, that the government as part of its 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future –
Ms O’CONNOR – So‑called.
Ms THOMAS – said it would introduce a 5 per cent fee on short‑stay rental accommodation. Is the government monitoring the impact of short‑stay rental accommodation on the residential rental market? And is it still committed to introducing this fee, or doesn’t that fit in now it has a no-new-taxes policy?
Ms O’CONNOR – Which is a stupid policy.
