After years of failure to overcome change-resistance, the University of Tasmania proposes scaling back its plan to move almost entirely to the Hobart CBD, funded by selling its existing Sandy Bay site for housing. It’s another manoeuvre in a five-year plus push to transform the university from a traditional campus to multi-sites embedded in the city.
But the proposal to sell some city-property and for STEM subjects to stay in a new development at Sandy Bay, contingent on federal funding, will reduce but not remove the university’s plan to create a CBD and surrounds campus.
The city move is long opposed by Sandy Bay residents who do not want more neighbours and past and present university staff and some students. Critics claim the university’s concession is not enough. While management proposes selling some city sites it wants to keep existing facilities for teaching in town and to move humanities and social sciences plus business and economics to the award-winning refurbished Forestry Commission building for the 2026 academic yea
A change plan was signalled months ago by Vice-Chancellor Rufus Black and became inevitable with campaigning against the CBD move by Madeleine Ogilvie, a Minister in the minority state government and a member for the electorate covering Sandy Bay. Ms Ogilvie welcomed the announcement, but recognised it will not happen without Federal funding. “We intend to strongly advocate to the Commonwealth to invest in Tasmanian’s STEM-led future,” she says.
And if Canberra does not come good, the State Government still wants the power to stop the university selling Sandy Bay. Ms Ogilvie says the Government will proceed with a bill requiring State Parliament approval for the sale of any existing campus land.
To which Opposition Leader Dean Winter, who has supported the city move, replies that she is, “standing in the way of the UTAS from being able to fund their ambitious STEM plans, while also standing in the way of the development of thousands of houses in Hobart.”
