A Development Application for PWS's 'Next Iconic Walk' project is likely to be released early in 2024, and completion of construction is currently planned for 2029. Most of our original fundamental problems with the project remain, plus some new concerns have recently come to light.
Where introduced trout have successfully established themselves the ecological damage has been done and cannot be undone. This makes the protection of the ecological integrity of the remaining trout-free waters in the TWWHA and elsewhere in Tasmania all the more important.
The Spero - Wanderer region is a 139,000 hectare tract of wild country south of Macquarie Harbour and west of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) that has been left out of the TWWHA.
The successful 1998 plan describing management of the Lower Gordon River is being reviewed in the context of the new TWWHA Tourism Master Plan, but it is disappointing the scope of new Draft Plan is limited to recreation and tourism use, rather than broader issues that affect the river.
New national polling commissioned by the National Parks Australia Council, a coalition of state-based conservation groups, confirms that the vast majority of Australians do not want to see prime protected areas like National Parks compromised by commercial or large-scale development.
A study into a new overnight walk in the Tyndall Range claims the proposal is feasible, and the government has doubled the funding already committed to take it to $40 million. But the proposed Next Iconic Walk, and in particular its location and selection process, has been criticised by a range of eNGOs, and many aspects of the Feasibility Study reinforce these earlier concerns.
We have been raising concerns about the 37km of mountain bike (MtB) tracks proposed for the slopes of kunanyi/Mt Wellington in Riding the Mountain, and in particular a range of planning issues, since May 2020.
A nationwide opinion poll has found 90 per cent of Australians support the protection of Australia’s wilderness areas. Support is high across the political spectrum, with 86 per cent of Coalition voters, 92 per cent of Labor voters and 94 per cent of Greens voters agreeing wilderness should be protected.
The Tyndall Range was announced as the government’s chosen option for their 'Next Iconic Walk' development in July 2019. We have prepared a background report describing the current state of play.
It's been quite a journey to a hearing at the Planning Appeal Tribunal. This is not just an appeal about a tourism development in a Tasmanian national park. We anticipate that the outcome will set a national precedent.
