Cassy O’Connor MP Greens’ Environment and Tourism Spokesperson MR
STAKEHOLDERS have Rejected Loop Road but Bartlett Backs Forestry Tasmania and Narrow Constituency
The Tasmanian Greens today accused Premier David Bartlett of ignoring the wishes of key stakeholders, as well as the environmental, economic and social needs of the Tarkine region, in its determination to push Forestry Tasmania’s divisive, destructive road through the Savage River Rainforest.
Greens Environment and Tourism spokesperson Cassy O’Connor MP said Premier Bartlett has enthusiastically braced the divisive mantle handed over by his predecessor, Paul Lennon.
“Like his predecessor, Paul Lennon, Premier Bartlett has deliberately gone down the path of division and destruction over this Forestry Tasmania road,” Ms O’Connor said.
“It is clear Labor would not be ignoring key stakeholders, pushing this road through the largest tract of unbroken rainforest in Australia and into the last disease-free stronghold of the Tasmanian Devil, unless it thought there was some kind of electoral advantage to Labor in Braddon.”
“The Premier wouldn’t be so aggressively pushing this divisive loop road proposal unless he thought it could help shore up a few votes in Braddon, where Labor in on the nose with two disgraced ex-Deputy Premiers and a lame-duck Member in Brenton Best.”
“True leadership is about uniting communities, about bringing Tasmanians together around a single purpose. It is about having a long-term, sustainable vision for regional communities. Premier ‘Dave the Divider’ Bartlett is demonstrating he is not the Leader Tasmania needs at this time,” Ms O’Connor said.
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Media Release 11 March 2009
Tarkine Road Economic Report based on one sided, implausible scenarios.
The Tarkine National Coalition has today questioned the validity of the Tarkine Road economic report released yesterday given it’s inherently biased assumptions
“The government has essentially said that if they build their $23million road, and if they spend another $25million of public money on creating attractions, and if they can leverage $60million of private investment in the area then they can create more visitor appeal than two straw-man scenarios that involve no investment” said the Tarkine National Coalition’s Tourism Project Officer, Scott Jordan.
“That’s a lot of ifs!”
“This is a report that has been hamstrung by it’s terms of reference. It doesn’t look at the alternates of the Savage River to Corinna and Zeehan, or of a properly resourced South Arthur to the coast option. Nor does it look at the alternates of a number of diverse investments in tourism in the Tarkine region.”
The report also does not provide any rationale for it’s assumptions of the conversion ratios used to determine visitor numbers. It is unclear whether these numbers are independently produced or supplied by Forestry Tasmania as part of the terms of reference.
Mr Jordan also questioned the assumption made that tourists preference not to back-track would hamper alternate options.
“It doesn’t seem to have any supporting evidence or basis in fact. Even the ‘loop road’ option will require tourists to back-track from Myalla back to Burnie/Devonport, versus backtracking from Smithton with the alternate option – what evidence is there that tourists will be very happy to backtrack from Myalla but not from Smithton?”
“What is clear from the report is that it contradicts it’s own assumptions given that examples that they use with the biggest visitor conversion factors (Cradle Mountain, Freycinet, Strahan) all require tourists to backtrack along in/out routes.”
Scott Jordan
Tourism Project Officer
Tarkine National Coalition
