Key Facts:
- The Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed the new Southern Tasmania Regional Land Use Strategy, which will guide land use and development across the region for the next 25 years.
- The Strategy recognises that secure, affordable, and locally sourced construction materials are critical to Southern Tasmania's building and construction sector - the region's largest output industry.
- The Strategy acknowledges the importance of maintaining buffers around mines and quarries to protect their ongoing operation from incompatible residential development and encroachment.
- The Strategy supports freight efficiency by encouraging key industries to locate in freight-efficient positions, which the CCAA notes is vital for reducing construction costs, road movements, and emissions.
- The CCAA has committed to continuing engagement with the Tasmanian Government on issues including future sand availability, protection of prospective resources, and more coordinated approvals for quarry development and expansion.
Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed the release of the new Southern Tasmania Regional Land Use Strategy, with the final Strategy recognising the critical role of locally sourced construction materials in supporting housing, infrastructure and economic growth.
The Strategy will guide land use and development across Southern Tasmania over the next 25 years.
CCAA Chief Executive Officer Michael Kilgariff said the document reflected several priorities raised by CCAA during consultation.
"Southern Tasmania cannot deliver the homes, roads and infrastructure it needs without secure and affordable access to the sand, aggregates and other construction materials required to build them," Mr Kilgariff said.
"We are pleased the final Strategy now explicitly recognises that secure, affordable and proximate supplies of essential construction materials are critical to Southern Tasmania's building and construction sector."
The Strategy identifies building and construction as Southern Tasmania's largest output industry and recognises the importance of secure local material supply.
Importantly, it also recognises the need to maintain appropriate separation between heavy industry and residential development, noting that buffers around mines and quarries are an important consideration in protecting their ongoing operation and the supply of construction materials.
"Protecting established quarries from incompatible development and residential encroachment is critical. Once access to a resource is lost, it cannot simply be relocated somewhere else," Mr Kilgariff said.
Mr Kilgariff also welcomed the Strategy's focus on freight efficiency, including supporting key industries in freight-efficient locations and minimising the distances required to move goods and materials.
"These are important planning principles for an industry where transport distance directly affects construction costs, road movements and emissions.
"Keeping quarries and other construction-material facilities appropriately located close to the communities they serve will be critical as Southern Tasmania continues to grow."
CCAA's February submission called for stronger protection of extractive resources, better planning for industrial land, more efficient freight outcomes and improved coordination of approvals.
"CCAA will continue working with the Tasmanian Government on future sand availability, protection of prospective resources and more coordinated approvals for quarry development and expansion.
"The final Strategy provides a stronger planning foundation. The focus now needs to be on turning those principles into secure material supply and better outcomes on the ground."
About us:
About CCAA CCAA is the voice of Australia's heavy construction materials industry, an industry that contributes $20.7 billion to GDP and supports 112,970 jobs nationwide. CCAA members produce most of Australia's cement, concrete and aggregates, which are essential to the nation's building and construction sectors.
