Submission
The stated reason for the proposed changes to the 2011 Management Plan is to facilitate an Expression of Interest proposal for a tourism venture centred on Tasman Island. The information available to the public regarding this proposal by Rotor-Lift Aviation consists of barely five words: “& Tasman Island by helicopter”.
This is insufficient for the TNPA or the public to evaluate the merits or otherwise of the proposal itself.
The TNPA opposes all the proposed plan changes. Our reasons for rejecting those that relate to facilitating commercial tourism access to Tasman Island are explained below and the other proposed changes which reflect the completion of the Threes Capes Track can and should wait for the next full review of the management plan.
Tasman Island from Cape Pillar, Tasman National Park. Photo: Grant Dixon
The absence of any other practical access to Tasman Island means that the proposed plan changes amount to a proposal for the provision by government of expensive infrastructure for the exclusive use of a single commercial operator.