Liberals to make it hard to turn its Sandy Bay campus into housing
The Liberals are promising to make it harder for the University of Tasmania to turn its Sandy Bay campus into housing, vowing to subject any change of use at the site to votes by both Houses of Parliament.
Transcript
00:00 After years of staying out of the debate about the University of Tasmania's plan to move
00:06 its Hobart campus from Sandy Bay to the CBD, the Liberals now say they're drawing a line
00:11 in the sand.
00:12 "Utas can still move into the city, but to sell or indeed lease the land will have to
00:19 have approval of both houses of parliament."
00:22 The University wants to turn the Sandy Bay campus into a new housing, sports and entertainment
00:27 precinct.
00:28 The site was gifted by the people of Tasmania to the University in the 1950s and is covered
00:33 by an Act of Parliament.
00:35 The Liberals have promised to change the law to require permission from parliament for
00:39 any plan to sell or lease even a single building or small portion of the campus for non-educational
00:45 purposes.
00:46 "It just creates huge uncertainty for businesses looking to invest in our state that all of
00:50 that could be changed in the stroke of a pen by a government that wants to introduce legislation
00:55 to prevent them from investing."
00:56 The University released detailed concept plans in 2021, showing 2,500 new homes on the Sandy
01:03 Bay site.
01:04 Independent candidate for Clerk Sue Hickey worked as an ambassador for the move for the
01:08 past two years and says the land should be used for housing.
01:12 "To expect them to just go back to a dead campus is a joke and this is a campus that
01:18 50 per cent of the people have already moved on."
01:23 In 2022, 74 per cent of City of Hobart residents voted against the campus move in an elector
01:29 poll.
01:30 After the poll, UTAS withdrew its planning scheme amendment for a redesigned Sandy Bay
01:34 campus and promised to work with the council on its next steps.
01:38 UTAS said its plan was to remain stewards of a majority of the site, to develop it over
01:43 time in a way that aligned with community and university principles.
01:47 A spokesman says it looks forward to seeing the details of the Liberals' policy.
01:52 Independent candidate for Clerk Ben Lohberger launched his campaign opposing the University's
01:57 CBD move, one day before the Liberals' announcement.
02:00 "I've been trying to get the University to stop moving for seven years and the government
02:05 has just ignored me.
02:06 And now suddenly we get to an election campaign and one day after I announce my candidacy,
02:10 they steal my policy."
02:12 A campus with a contested future, now front and centre of the state election campaign.
02:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]