CHAIR – Minister, we’ve talked about housing as a crisis over the course of this afternoon and this evening, but equally, Tasmania faces issues around climate change. I wonder how the regional land use strategy and the approach that the government might take could properly address issues around climate change. There’s not really the head of power. There’s a lot of subjective approach in relation to acting on climate change, but how do you use the planning system to ensure that Tasmanians have a climate-ready future?
Mr VINCENT – The TPP certainly has climate as part of what they look at, and when I read through those several times, I thought that’s going to allow councils to stop and think a little bit differently about that area. It’s not an area that I’ve had in a short time in the ministry to get too far into. I am very conscious of it and anything else other than that I’d probably have to take on board and just examine as we go forward to how it can fit, but it is a very serious subject. I know we are talking about a lot in infrastructure, about roads and bridges and where we need to be in the future, and any time we are looking at designs of roads in certain areas we’re trying to take into account the effect of possible climate change and what that might mean going forward with those roads and how it services those areas. But that’s about the detail I have at the present.
CHAIR – Is there any charter for wellbeing? I know that the Health minister yesterday spoke and provided a report of preventive health and wellbeing strategies, and she was talking about that being very much embedded across agencies – a whole‑of‑government approach to health. I’m just curious to know, minister, whether it is clear that health outcomes in a changing climate will be addressed through planning?
Mr VINCENT – I will refer that to Mr Reid.
Mr REID – The Tasmanian planning policies at the moment, as being made, are first suite. So, there is scope for the minister to add to – for lack of better word – the ‘chapters to the book’, so if there are future issues or matters like Health, like climate‑related matters, they can be added to the TPPs.
The general effect of that is, because of the lower instruments of the planning system including the regional land use strategies, the scheme itself and local provisions need to be consistent with those higher instruments. Then, naturally, the policy intent or effect of those can be put through the scheme.
It comes back to that matter I was talking before about treating things like the Tasmanian planning policies and regional land strategies as a bit more of a living document that can be readily updated as new issues arise and policy directions of government change.
CHAIR – Just to finish up on that: I mean, that would be the obvious place to embed that so it was really instructive for how planning schemes are interpreted and planning is interpreted across. Can we have an undertaking, minister, that you will look at those two issues of preventive health and climate change?
Mr VINCENT – Certainly I can take it on board. Everything I’m trying to do is bring around positive change, and by bringing forward the TPPs and the land use strategy that have been sitting there for a while now is a true indication of what I want to get through and work through. So, I’m more than happy to take all that on board and have discussions on anything you require there.
