Public meeting in response to Save UTAS Campus petition

The City of Hobart held a public meeting on Wednesday 11 May 2022 in response to a petition regarding the relocation of the University of Tasmania (UTAS) from its Sandy Bay campus into the Hobart central business district. The petition requested:

We the undersigned electors of the City of Hobart request that:

1. Hobart City Council shall forthwith suspend all support in relation to the relocation proposal until completion of a comprehensive review of the relocation proposal in a form that enables community comment.
2. Pursuant to S.59 of the LG Act, the Hobart City Council shall hold a public meeting regarding the relocation proposal.

In accordance with s60 of the Local Government Act 1993 ("the Act") the general manager is to advise the Council within 42 days after the tabling of the petition whether the petition complies with s59 of the Act so that the Council can determine any action to be taken in respect of the petition.

This action occurred at the Council meeting on 11 April 2022 whereat the Council resolved that the number of signatories to the petition, verified signatures as being 1,398, met the criteria required under s 59(2) of the Local Government Act 1993 and that a public meeting will be held. 

Once the Council noted its intention to conduct a public meeting, a number of triggers were enacted under s60A of the Act:

1. The Council had 30 days after the day on which it makes the decision to conduct the public meeting, in which to enact its decision;
2. The Council had to advertise the details of the meeting twice, invite public submissions in relation the subject matter of the meeting and provide a period of 21 days after the first advertisement for the receipt of submissions;
3. A summary of all submissions received was to be made available to those attending the public meeting.

Written submissions were invited in relation to the subject matter via the Your Say Hobart webpage.

Documents

Agenda Public Meeting – Save UTAS Campus(PDF, 188KB)

Public Meeting Rules(PDF, 154KB)

Summary of Submissions – Save UTAS Campus(PDF, 36KB)

Minutes of Public Meeting(PDF, 182KB)

Response to Save UTAS Public Meeting Questions to Council(PDF, 887KB)

Save UTAS Public Meeting Responses to Motions(PDF, 568KB)

Watch the meeting

The meeting was live-streamed via the City's YouTube channel:

 

Resolutions

Following the public meeting, the Council considered the resolutions passed by the public meeting at its meeting of 16 May 2022. The Council resolved that:

1. The motions and decisions made at the public meeting held on Wednesday 11 of May 2022 and included as Attachment A to this report, be immediately acted upon with an urgent report prepared for Council via the appropriate committee within a month.
2. The report being prepared in response to the Notice of Motion adopted by Council at its meeting of 15 March 2022 be dealt with separately.

A report in response to the Council’s resolution above will be submitted at the Council’s meeting on 30 May 2022.

When

Location

City Hall, 57-63 Macquarie Street, Hobart, 7000, View Map