Background
From Wednesday 26 June to Monday 15 July 2019, members of the electorate for the City of Hobart municipal area will be receiving information from the Tasmanian Electoral Commission for the elector poll taking place on the Building Heights Standard Review and officer's report in response to maximum allowable heights in the Hobart area.
The Elector Poll has now ended and ballot papers have been counted by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission.
Results of the Elector Poll
Electors enrolled - 37 718
Declarations returned - 15 990
Response rate - 42.39%
Principal Question
Q: Should the Council support the building heights limits and other recommendations made by its planning officers?
Informal 38
Total ballot papers: 15 802
Further questions
For the further questions, ballot papers were counted as groups determined by the response to the principal question.
Q: Would you prefer the building height limit in Height Area 1 to be lower than 60 metres?
Note: of the 38 informal to the principal question: 9 responded Yes and 2 responded No.
Q: Would you prefer the planning schemes remain unchanged?
Note: of the 38 informal to the principal question: 9 responded Yes and 6 responded No.
Results retrieved from the Tasmanian Electoral Commission website.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have provided the public with some helpful answers about the project and the voting process.
Information pack contents
Detailed information about the ballot and contents may be found on the Tasmanian Electoral Commission website.
An elector poll must be held by councils if requested by petition. Elector polls are legislated by the Tasmanian State Government and is a council obligation in response to members of the electorate requesting and receiving the required 1000 signatures in support of one.
Further information may be found in the Local Government Act 1993 Part 6, Division 2, 60C.
The Tasmanian Elector Commission was asked to undertake administering this elector poll. The three questions asked for the poll have been developed through a consultative process with the group that lodged the petition ('Hobart, Not Highrise') and City of Hobart officers.
The elector poll is a democratic right provided within the Local Government Act 1993, that is funded by the Hobart City Council.
An elector poll was petitioned for by members of the Hobart community following a public meeting on 16 April 2019 on the Building Heights Standard Review and officer reports.
If you previously voted in the local government elections in 2018, you are eligible to vote on the elector poll. You are also eligible if you are on the State electoral roll or the City of Hobart General Manager's roll. You can check your eligibility by visiting Tasmanian Electoral Commission.
No. Voting is not compulsory.
The 2019 Hobart City Council elector poll ballots will be delivered via Australian Post by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission from Wednesday 26 June 2019. Registered Local Government roll residents can vote by return ballot until Monday 15 July.
You can read the background of the Building Heights Standard Review on the City of Hobart website.
Background information and support cases, along with 3 questions have been developed through a consultative process with the group that lodged the petition (‘Hobart, Not Highrise’) and City of Hobart staff.