The Mountain needs you – keep Kunanyi cable car free

The cable car proposal was firmly rejected by TASCAT because it doesn’t comply with our Planning Scheme – so now the State Government wants to change the rules. The move is part of a broader strategy to wrestle control of planning from local councils. Whilst our hospitals and education system are in crisis, the State Government is continuing to use its power and resources to facilitate land grabs for private developers. 

Importantly, Hobart City Council will retain the power to assess any proposed developments on the mountain. This means it’s more important than ever that we have a strong council to stand up for the mountain and our beautiful environment more broadly.

We surveyed candidates in the Hobart City Council election

The following candidates told us, subject to consideration of any new development application, they do not support a cable car on Kunanyi/Mt Wellington and support the proposed transport interchange facility at Halls Saddle:

Sitting councillors:

• BEN LOHBERGER
• BILL HARVEY
• MIKE DUTTA
• RYAN POSSELT
• ZELINDA SHERLOCK

New candidates:

• AJ HUMPHRIES
• ANGUS TEMPLETON
• SAM CAMPBELL
• SUSAN WALLACE
• TIFFANY ASHDOWN
• TRENTON HOARE

Some other candidates said they are supportive but didn’t give clear yes/no answers to ROCC’s questions. You can read their full responses and more detailed statements from some of the other candidates below.

Other useful resources

• The list of Hobart City Council candidates who have made a commitment to the Hobart 2030 Better Vision for Hobart regarding key plannning issues.
• The results of South Hobart Progress Association’s candidate survey
• Kevin Bonham’s Hobart Council Candidate and Election Guide 2026 
• Hobart First’s list of pro cable car candidates

In addition, we recommend you read the Candidates’ Statement Booklet which will be distributed with your ballot paper.  

 Ben Lohberger

1. NO. I don’t support the cable car and I never will.
2. YES. I actually brought both the motions on Council (first motion jointly with Cr Sherlock, and the second was jointly with the Lord Mayor) that kickstarted this project again, after the original proposal was sidelined by the ridiculous cable car debate. I also believe the Halls Saddle facility has the potential to provide an emergency bushfire refuge for the mountain community.

Ryan Posselt

No. I do not support a cable car on Kunanyi. Tourism best practice suggests that locations with high visitation should aim to disperse visitors to avoid over crowding. A cable car achieves the opposite, concentrating visitors in the area with the harshest weather. Meaning visitors miss out on amazing places like the octopus tree and sphinx rock. 

Yes. For the reasons outlined above I’m very supportive of Halls Saddle. I believe it will enhance the mountain experience for locals and visitors and open new opportunities. I also believe it can function as a place of last resort and shelter for residents of Fern Tree and Ridgeway.

Louise Bloomfield

I do think that the cable car original plan failed on 24 points and rightly was refused. I prefer to stick to planning rules than outright yes or no though as that suggests bias which I am not comfortable with.

I note that even WITH the 24 points of refusal nowhere did the poor outcome for the road access through South Hobart remotely rate a mention and that was appalling. On that basis alone I would be very much against a plan that made this worse.

Harvey Lennon

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a belated survey response and apologies for not participating in the brochure opportunity.

I do not support the development of a cable car based on the only proposal I have seen in the past decade. I believe we should be preserving the cultural and natural values of kunanyi. As a long term resident of South Hobart I have enjoyed walking and jogging on tracks on kunanyi and its foothills and believe we should do what we can to allow others to experience the quiet enjoyment of that place.

I am keen to see more detail on the Halls Saddle proposal to see how it protects the Mountain, enhances the visitor experience; improves safe and enjoyable access especially after snowfalls and the funding model.

John Kelly

I have always opposed development applications for any cable car proposal to the summit of the mountain.

Rachel Needham

I appreciate your work to compile candidates positions on kunanyi/ Mt Wellington and I would like to contribute to the discussion however the survey design doesn’t enable the specific nuance I feel I would like to offer to the conversation. 

I will reassure you by saying, I too am very protective of our mountain and the sacred and beautiful space she is, I wake up to her as my view every morning and treasure the times my sons and I have accessed her for walks or to play in the snow. 

If I am elected I want to reassure you, and the other volunteers, that any development, changes, tolls, cafes etc etc will be carefully considered and deeply questioned for impact, alternatives, costs, running costs, cost to the consumer, benefits, risks and visual impact – the answer I suspect will then be very clear and I will vote accordingly. My position overall is I do not want the mountain privatised, she is our mountain and not just for some.

Cameron Brumby

Question 1. Do I support a cable car on kunanyi / Mount Wellington?

I can’t honestly answer this one yes or no, and I’d rather tell you that straight than tick a box that misrepresents where I sit. I am neither for nor against a cable car in principle. What I am is clear about the conditions any proposal would have to meet before it got anywhere near my support:

▪︎ Hobartians pay less than visitors, because it is our mountain

▪︎ It disappears into the mountain, a light footprint, not a landmark you see from the city

▪︎ Aboriginal heritage assessed properly by the right people, not as a box tick

▪︎ It has to take cars off Pinnacle Road, not add to what is already there

▪︎ Private capital carries the risk, not ratepayers

If you want a single line for your leaflet, this is the one I’d stand behind: “Neither for nor against. Locals pay less than visitors, it disappears into the mountain, Aboriginal heritage assessed by the right people, fewer cars on Pinnacle Road, and private capital carries the risk. Anything short of that doesn’t get my vote.”

I’d also say, as you’ve acknowledged in your question, that a councillor sitting as a planning authority has to judge an application on the scheme in front of them, and I take that obligation seriously.

Question 2. Do I support the City of Hobart’s proposed transport interchange at the Halls Saddle Mountain Gateway Precinct?

Yes. More than 400,000 people a year get up that mountain and almost all of them drive, and the road closes often enough that half of us have turned around at a boom gate at some point. A gateway with parking and a shuttle is the sensible way to handle that without carving anything new into the mountain, and it should be judged on cost, on how it’s staged, and on whether the shuttle actually runs often enough that people use it.

Charles Wooley

Outlines his views on a cable car

Authorised by Philip Stigant, 21 William St Nipaluna/Hobart 7000