Freycinet standing camps
The Glamorgan/Spring Bay Council has recently approved a development application for the “reinstatement” of commercial standing camps at Cooks Corner and Bluestone Bay which have been inoperative for almost twenty years. The TNPA considers that the proposal should have been assessed by both Council and PWS as a new proposal, not a “reinstatement” of the previous camps.
New fee for Cradle Mountain visitors
PWS has recently announced that adults will be required to purchase a $15 ticket to use the Cradle Mountain shuttle bus. The announcement has been widely criticised because it represents a reversal of the undertaking that shuttle bus costs would be covered by park entry fees. TNPA affirms its support, in principle, for the shuttle bus service and opposition to the proposed cableway.
Aboriginal values & wilderness fundamental to TWWHA
Conservation groups have written to Australia’s Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek MP, to welcome the new Retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (page 16) for the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) of Lutruwita/Tasmania. The Statement, provided by the Australian government, was approved by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at its 45th session in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, in late September 2023.
New Lake Malbena book
The new book by nature writer and fishing guide Greg French, 'Wild Heart of Tasmania', is a collection of stories about Tasmania’s Western Lakes wilderness, centred around Lake Malbena, the location of a controversial proposed heli-tourism development. It is an inspirational tale for those who love wild places and wild life, and a cautionary one for those who believe Australia’s national parks to be well protected and its democracy sacrosanct.
Cradle Mountain Cableway – Good riddance!
The cableway proposal was part of the thought bubble called the 2016 Cradle Master Plan. The state government has recently been advised by the federal government that the funding commitment (the $30 million) has been withdrawn since the Tasmanian Government failed to provide the required information by 28 April 2023.
Lake Malbena: Latest process lacks integrity
The latest submission from the proponent of a helicopter-accessed tourism development at remote Lake Malbena, seeking federal approval, has not engaged with the concerns of the 1000s of stakeholders who wrote to him last year, and the whole process lacks integrity due to his treatment of these representations.