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Meeting 2: Aug 2000

Premier’s Local Government Council – Meeting Report

August 2000

State and local government representatives agree on new cooperative approaches

State and Local Government have agreed to new cooperative processes on waste management and the development of a model framework for planning schemes.

Meeting today the Premier’s Local Government Council endorsed two new statewide Partnership Agreements which identify broad objectives and processes for achieving agreement in these two areas.

Framework for Planning Schemes

The Council heard about the benefits to Tasmania from a generally acceptable and agreed framework for planning schemes across all jurisdictions.

Participants noted the outcomes of a recent State, Local Government, industry and community workshop on the proposal for a model framework for planning schemes in which it was agreed that there was a need for a jointly agreed planning framework which was capable of being introduced on an incremental basis by Councils.

The Parties agreed that any new model framework would need to find the right balance between flexibility and certainty in the planning process and should be:

  • well understood and owned by the community and Councils
    underpinned by good and accurate strategic planning

The meeting also agreed that any new framework should not prevent the implementation of the current model planning framework for those Councils that wished to continue using it.

Under the Statewide Partnership on a Framework for Planning Schemes members of the Council have agreed to establish a process to facilitate the development of a jointly agreed model planning framework which satisfies the criteria identified by the parties.

The Agreement will operate for a two year period.

Waste Management

Members agreed that the proper management of waste was important for both environmental and economic reasons and agreed that both tiers of Government shared responsibility for ensuring that wastes are sustainably managed.

The Council endorsed a new Statewide Agreement on Waste Management in which parties agreed to work cooperatively towards achieving State waste reduction objectives. The Agreement identifies agreed waste management priorities and identified a detailed work program for addressing priority issues.

A Tasmanian Waste Advisory Committee including State and Local Government representatives, together with industry and community representatives will be established to implement the Agreement.

Included among its key tasks will be:

  • the identification of issues and options for advancing the National Packaging Covenant
  • options for managing hazardous waste
  • the identification of options for promoting market development and resource recovery
  • the identification of issues and options for a producer pays mechanism to assist the implementation of waste management activities in the State

Planning Guidelines for Urban Skylines and Hillfaces

The Council also considered a report on how best to progress the implementation of Planning Guidelines for Urban Skylines and Hillfaces. The Guidelines are relevant to the 4 major urban areas of the State (the greater Hobart region and the three cities of Launceston, Burnie and Devonport).

The Council noted that it would be appropriate to pursue issues related to the Guidelines in regional or bilateral agreements developed by the State and individual Councils.

The Council also endorsed the approach taken in the Hobart region where the 5 urban Councils have been invited to work with the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment to assess the extent to which there are currently gaps in protection and the processes that could be considered to address these.

The Council also undertook a broad ranging discussion on issues of mutual concern to both State and Local Government, including genetically modified organisms, plantations and air quality issues.

The Premier’s Local Government Council was established in February 2000 to provide a forum for State and Local Government to work cooperatively on issues of statewide importance to local government.

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