Kangaroo Bay another lesson in Liberal incompetence

Only Jeremy Rockliff could look at a 11-year saga of failure, broken promises, and legal warfare at Kangaroo Bay and try to spin it as a major economic victory.

The Premier’s desperate attempt to celebrate an Initial Assessment Report shows just how out of touch this government is. The problem at Kangaroo Bay has never been about getting development approvals – Chambroad already got the approvals they needed and failed to build a single thing.

11 years ago, Chambroad was selected to develop this prime piece of public land. Instead of delivering for the Eastern Shore, they have left the community with a vacant lot, fenced off from the people who should rightfully own it. Even the government’s own TAFE Tasmania saw the writing on the wall and pulled out of the project back in 2019.

Chambroad received three separate extensions from Clarence City Council.  The Council gave them every chance to build but refused to extend on the fourth such request.

Because Chambroad failed to deliver, the Clarence City Council was left with no option but to exercise its legal right to buy the land back, as agreed in their contract. Instead of respecting that deal, Chambroad – a foreign-owned company with no visible presence in Tasmania – has dragged the Council into court to dispute a well-understood agreement.

The Rockliff Government has chosen to give special treatment to this failed developer. It is completely absurd that the government is participating in a sham planning process for a property where the ownership and tenure are entirely uncertain.

I support genuine, sustainable investment that creates local jobs. I do not support a Premier who uses the independent planning process as a political shield to cover up a decade of inaction.

Like Mayor Brendan Blomeley, I want to see the site developed in line with community views. 

Tasmanians don't need more spin about being ‘open for business’—they need a government that backs local communities, rather than running interference for a developer that has given the Eastern Shore nothing but empty promises.