Tarkine Federal assessment welcomed

Dr Phill Pullinger Environment Tasmania
CONSERVATIONISTS have welcomed the pending Federal assessment of the proposed ‘Tarkine loop road’, and the opportunity it will present for the Federal Environment Minister to save the Tasmanian devil and protect the integrity of the Tarkine Rainforest, Australia’s Largest Tract of temperate rainforest. They believe that the Federal government can take on a crucial leadership role, by stopping the road project, putting the Tarkine on the National Heritage list, and ensuring that the Federally funded Tarkine Tourism Master plan, a broad strategy that respects that Tarkine’s conservation values, is implemented.

“We congratulate the Federal Environment department and the Federal Minister, Peter Garrett, for insisting that Federal environmental law is upheld in relation to the proposed ‘Tarkine loop road’, due to its impacts on the endangered Tasmanian Devil, other threatened species, and other national environmental values,” said Dr Phill Pullinger, President of the Tarkine National Coalition,

“What has been incredible, is how long it has taken Forestry Tasmania to reluctantly agree to comply with Federal environmental law and agree to refer this project to the Federal government for a full Federal assessment,” he continued, “In the 21st century, it is incomprehensible that we are even considering using taxpayer’s money to push a road through pristine rainforest and push the Tasmanian Devil towards extinction, and it is incomprehensible that a logging agency has been given all of the taxpayer’s tourism funding for this globally significant heritage region,”

“In no other state in Australia would a logging agency, rather than the Parks & Wildlife service, be charged with the management of such globally significant rainforest reserves. It is time for the Tasmanian government to stop allowing Forestry Tasmania to dictate the running and implementation of Tasmania’s environment, tourism and conservation policies, and it is crucially important that the Federal government inject some integrity back into this process by ensuring that the Federal assessment is independent, allows for public input, and allows for the input of independent experts,” he concluded.

The Tarkine is a 447,000 hectare wilderness area that is home to more than 60 species of threatened plants and animals, and contains Australia’s largest temperate rainforest. The Tarkine National Coalition are working to see the Tarkine protected as a National Park & World Heritage area with a well thought out and funded tourism & management plan put in place for the area.