Rockliff’s balls up

Premier Rockliff’s new rule: ‘no’ just means ‘ask Parliament.’

“Parliament will have the final say.” That’s Premier Rockliff’s line after the independent Planning Commission, aka the experts, ruled the Macquarie Point stadium a non-starter.

Translation: If the umpire calls it out, just change the rules of the game to “Next goal wins”.

Do you remember playing a game with your mates, maybe at school lunchtime? Then one team scores a point. There’s a kid there who picks up the ball, declares it’s his, walks off, and then the game is finished.

That kid grew up to be the Premier of Tasmania.

Tasmania’s planning system is supposed to be the fair umpire. We fund experts to weigh up projects, measure the risks, and decide if something stacks up. They’ve done their job. They’ve said no. Go away and think again.

But instead of respecting that decision, Rockliff has taken the ball and given it to the state parliament to play another game. 

None of them are planning experts. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find out what Liberal, Labor and Greens members’ particular skillsets are, except navigating party politics.

All of them are career politicians. Which means this isn’t about planning anymore; it’s about political horse-trading. If you’ve got the numbers, you win. If you don’t, you move the goalposts until you do.

And what happens to the cherished idea of independent scrutiny in this scenario? It’s thrown out the window, dismissed as an inconvenient obstacle. What happens to the fundamental trust Tasmanians have placed in a fair and transparent process, where decisions are made on merit rather than political leverage? 

It’s gone, eroded by a Premier seemingly willing to bypass established norms. And what precedent does this set for the next major project that, for legitimate reasons, can’t get past the independent umpire? 

Well, why bother with a commission at all if the Premier can just pull out a parliamentary rubber stamp whenever an independent assessment doesn’t align with their political aspirations? This move creates a dangerous precedent that could see future projects, regardless of their flaws or public opposition, rammed through parliament.

This is bigger than one stadium. It’s about whether Tasmanians can trust the rules of the game. 

Because once you throw away the umpire, the whole thing turns into a backyard free-for-all where the loudest kid makes the calls.

Rockliff is the loudest kid. He might want his stadium at any cost, but Tasmanians deserve a planning system where “no” means no — not just another chance for the Premier to demand a replay.