Greater Hobart Act 2019

Greater Hobart Act 2019

This Act may be cited as the Greater Hobart Act 2019.

This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –

activity centre means an area in which services, employment, or retail, commercial or social activity, are concentrated and includes an area that is – a community meeting place; or a place at which community or government services are or may be provided; or an educational facility; or a place for sport, recreation, leisure or entertainment; or a place where residential use or development occurs in an urban area of mixed land use;

adjunct council means a council that is an adjunct council under section 15;

Advisory Group means the Greater Hobart Advisory Group established by section 7(1);

chairperson of the Committee means the person appointed under section 6(4) to be the chairperson of the Committee;

Committee means the Greater Hobart Committee established by section 6(1);

draft work program means a draft work program prepared under section 9(1) by the Advisory Group;

Greater Hobart area means the area containing each municipal area of the Greater Hobart area councils;

Greater Hobart area councils means the following councils:the Clarence City Council; the Glenorchy City Council; the Hobart City Council; the Kingborough Council;

Greater Hobart Objectives means the objectives specified in section 5;

Homes Tasmania means Homes Tasmania established by section 9(1) of the Homes Tasmania Act 2022;

infrastructure means – any built structure; and transport infrastructure; and service infrastructure;

Infrastructure Tasmania means the administrative unit, of the Department of State Growth, known as Infrastructure Tasmania;

mayor has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act 1993;

passenger transport means transport primarily for the purpose of carrying passengers, whether or not on the payment of a fare;

Planning Minister means the Minister assigned the administration of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993;

service infrastructure means infrastructure related to the provision of gas, water, sewerage, electricity or telecommunications;

Southern Tasmania Regional Land Use Strategy means the regional land use strategy, in force from time to time under section 5A of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993, that applies to the area of Tasmania that includes the Greater Hobart area;

transport infrastructure means infrastructure to enable road, rail, water or air transport or the movement of pedestrians or bicyclists;

work program means a draft work program, as amended from time to time under section 12(3), that is approved under section 10(1) and that has not been revoked under section 12(4).

The object of this Act is to assist the Greater Hobart area councils and the State Government to better co-ordinate, across the Greater Hobart area – the efficient use of infrastructure; and ease of access to infrastructure, in all locations, for persons of all abilities and needs; and strategic planning, and other actions, in relation to future land use and development in the Greater Hobart area – so as to improve the health and wellbeing of persons, and enable the Greater Hobart Objectives to be achieved, in the Greater Hobart area.

The principal way in which the object of this Act is to be achieved is by establishing a process for the formation and implementation of a work program that seeks to further the Greater Hobart Objectives in the Greater Hobart area.

For the purposes of this Act, the Greater Hobart Objectives are –

to encourage and promote, in the making of strategic planning decisions, and decisions about land use, in relation to the Greater Hobart area, the consideration of potential benefits, and implications, for that area, of such decisions; and to facilitate the efficient and safe flow of transport, to improve access to, and to further the use of, public passenger transport, and to encourage and promote the use of transport with low-carbon emissions, in the Greater Hobart area; and to further the maintenance and accessibility of existing, and the development of new, cultural, sporting, recreational and community facilities, that complement, link to, and contribute to, the cultural experiences able to be provided in the Greater Hobart area; and to encourage, promote and provide for urban renewal, and affordable housing, that enhance amenity, liveability, ease of access to places and facilities and the provision of passenger transport; and to encourage, promote and provide for the development of hubs for specialised purposes such as science, sport, recreation, social activity, economic activity, technology, industry, education or the arts; and to encourage, promote and provide for, where suitable – the efficient and effective integration and co-location of the facilities, housing and hubs that are referred to in the other paragraphs of these objectives; and the transport infrastructure, and the service infrastructure, that is necessary or desirable in relation to such facilities, housing and hubs; and any other prescribed objectives.

There is established by this subsection the Greater Hobart Committee (the Committee).

The Committee is comprised of the following members:each of the mayors of the Greater Hobart area councils; the Minister with primary responsibility for economic development; the Minister with primary responsibility for infrastructure; the Minister with primary responsibility for housing; the Minister with primary responsibility for community development.

A Minister who is responsible for more than one of the areas referred to in subsection (2) has as many votes at a meeting of the Committee as he or she has such areas of responsibility.

The person who is a member of the Committee under subsection (2)(b) is to be the chairperson of the Committee.

The meetings and procedure of the Committee are, subject to this Act and the regulations, to be as determined by the Committee.

There is established by this subsection the Greater Hobart Advisory Group (the Advisory Group).

The Advisory Group is comprised of the following members:each person who is a general manager, within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993, for a Greater Hobart area council; the Secretary of a department that is nominated by the Minister for the purposes of this paragraph; the Secretary of the department responsible to the Planning Minister in relation to the administration of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993; a person nominated by Homes Tasmania; the Secretary of the department, the primary purpose of which is to assist the Minister who has primary responsibility for community development; the Secretary of the department, the primary purpose of which is to assist the Minister who has primary responsibility for economic development; the Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Tasmania or, if that unit of administration ceases to exist, another unit of administration nominated by the Minister.

The person who is a member of the Advisory Group under subsection (2)(f) is to be the chairperson of the Advisory Group.

The meetings and procedure of the Advisory Group are, subject to this Act and the regulations, to be as determined by the Advisory Group.

A work program is to set out the specific actions, including actions in relation to the corridors and activity centres that are identified in the map included in the work program under subsection (3), that are to be carried out by, or on behalf of, the following:any one or more of the Greater Hobart area councils; an adjunct council; the State Government – so as to further the Greater Hobart Objectives.

Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a work program may include actions to enable the better coordination between Greater Hobart area councils, or between Greater Hobart area councils and the State, of decisions about infrastructure, strategic planning decisions, and decisions about land use.

A work program is to include a map that identifies existing key transport corridors, and activity centres, within the Greater Hobart area.

A work program – may contain any prescribed matter; and must contain any matter that must, in accordance with the regulations, be included in such programs.

A work program may include proposed actions that, if carried out, would – expand the corridors and activity centres that have been identified in the map included in the work program under subsection (3); or establish, within the Greater Hobart area, new transport corridors or activity centres.

A work program is to identify which persons, or bodies, are to be jointly or separately responsible for ensuring that specific actions, set out in the work program, are carried out.

The Advisory Group, in preparing a draft work program, must – seek to further the objectives of the resource management and planning system, as set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993; and consider the Southern Tasmania Regional Land Use Strategy; and be consistent with any applicable State Policy within the meaning of the State Policies and Projects Act 1993.

The Advisory Group is to – prepare a draft work program as soon as practicable after the day on which this Act commences; and prepare a draft work program as soon as practicable after the day on which a work program is revoked in accordance with section 12(4).

As soon as practicable after a draft work program is prepared under subsection (1), the Advisory Group is to submit the draft to the Committee.

The Committee, as soon as practicable after a draft work program is submitted to it under section 9(2), must – approve the draft work program; or after consulting with the Advisory Group, approve the draft work program, amended as the Committee thinks fit; or refuse to approve the draft work program.

A draft work program is only to be taken to be approved under subsection (1)(a) or (b) if the majority of the members of the Committee, including no fewer than 3 of the members who are mayors of Greater Hobart area councils, have approved the draft work program under subsection (1)(a) or (b) respectively.

A draft work program comes into effect as a work program on the day on which the draft work program is approved under subsection (1)(a) or (b).

The Committee must provide a copy of a work program to the Greater Hobart area councils as soon as practicable after the work program comes into effect under subsection (3).

The Advisory Group, within 3 months after a work program has been in effect for 3 years, is to begin a review of the work program.

The Advisory Group is to review a work program by – reviewing the extent to which, and the manner in which, the specific actions set out in the work program were carried out; and considering whether other actions should be set out in the work program.

The Advisory Group, within 6 months after beginning a review under subsection (1) or a longer period allowed by the chairperson of the Committee, must provide to the Committee a report in relation to the review of the work program.

The chairperson of the Committee must, as soon as practicable after allowing a longer period under subsection (3), notify the members of the Committee of that longer period.