The Tasmanian Automotive Chamber of Commerce (TACC) is urging Hobart City Council to abandon a proposal that would ban broad-acre automotive retailing in the central city, warning it would cause “severe and unjustified harm” to businesses, workers and consumers.
A motion due to be debated at the Council’s December meeting seeks to amend the Hobart Interim Planning Scheme to prohibit future automotive retail operations in the CBD and coordinate their long-term removal.
TACC chief executive Peter Jones says the proposal shows a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the automotive sector’s importance to Tasmania’s economy.
“This proposal would inflict severe and unjustified harm on businesses, consumers and the broader Tasmanian economy,” Jones says.
“We are talking about an industry that supports businesses with hundreds of employees in the Hobart region, delivering high-skilled employment, substantial private investment, and critical training pathways. Council appears ready to disrupt all of this without proper consultation or clear justification.”
Jones says the timing is particularly concerning given the sector’s role in supporting the transition to electric and hybrid vehicles.
“Restricting broad acre automotive retailing would directly undermine the shift to cleaner vehicle technologies by limiting access to suitably sized sites that can accommodate modern workshop facilities, servicing requirements and EV charging infrastructure,” he says.
“At a time when governments are actively encouraging uptake of electric and hybrid vehicles, this proposal would make it harder for Tasmanians to access the very infrastructure and services needed to support that transition.”
TACC says the move would reduce consumer access to essential services such as repairs, safety inspections and parts supply.
“Forcing automotive businesses out of accessible locations would create substantial inconvenience for consumers and impose additional cost burdens on businesses already operating in a challenging economic environment,” Jones says. “These are real consequences for real people and businesses.”
The Chamber also questions the strategic basis for the proposal, saying it threatens established employment precincts and existing investment without proper industry engagement.
“Businesses have made long-term investments based on current planning provisions,” Jones says. “A planning control of this nature would create unintended and unjustified economic harm whilst undermining confidence in the integrity of Hobart’s planning system.”
TACC says it is disappointed the industry was not consulted before the motion was lodged. The organisation has written to Hobart City Council general manager Michael Stretton requesting urgent discussions.
“We should have been part of this conversation from the beginning,” Jones says. “This is not how good planning policy is developed, and it’s not how you treat an industry that employs hundreds of Tasmanians and provides essential services to every household and business.”
“TACC will vigorously oppose any planning changes that inflict unjustified harm on our industry, but we remain willing to work with Council to find solutions that balance the city’s development aspirations with the legitimate needs of businesses that serve every Tasmanian.”
Hobart City Council says the proposal to restrict large car yards in the CBD aligns with long-term planning objectives for a higher-density, mixed-use city centre.
The motion, brought by councillor Ryan Posselt, seeks amendments to the Hobart Interim Planning Scheme to “prospectively prohibit broadacre automotive retail” and develop a plan for the “coordinated retreat” of large car yards from central Hobart.
Posselt argues broadacre dealerships are an inefficient use of limited inner-city land, noting that more than 45,000 square metres of the CBD is currently occupied by automotive retail.
He says the proposal supports the Central Hobart Plan and the 30-year Greater Hobart Plan, which together aim to deliver 5,000 new dwellings and accommodate more than 10,000 additional residents in the city centre by 2050.
The council has also committed to engaging with the state government, the Committee for Greater Hobart and neighbouring councils to help identify alternative sites for automotive businesses outside the CBD.
Automobile Magazine-AU
