JEREMY ROCKLIFF, Shadow tourism minister

Tarkine: Too hot for Minister to handle…

· Tourism Tasmania and Tourism Minister distance themselves from Labor’s flawed Tarkine road proposal

· This follows an admission from the Primary Industries Minister that the road will pose an increased risk to endangered Tasmanian devils

Labor’s flawed Tarkine Road proposal appears too hot for the Tourism Minister, or Tourism Tasmania, to handle.

Both were at pains to avoid embracing Labor’s $23 million plan or to claim it as a tourism project in today’s Budget Estimates hearings.
Is that because they share concerns that have been expressed to the government that Labor’s plan could actually damage tourism and the State’s wilderness brand?
And if so, what is the Minister doing to stand up to the Labor government’s stupidity and protect the long term interests of Tarkine tourism?

You’d think that if the government was spending $23 million of taxpayers money on a “tourism” project, when economic times are this tough, Tourism Tasmania and the Minister would be celebrating.

That they don’t seem to want to even touch the project is further evidence that Labor’s proposal is flawed. For Labor, this is all about short-term politics, not the long-term interests of Tasmania, or the Tarkine region.

Earlier this week, the Primary Industrues Minister, David Llewellyn also admitted there would also be an increased risk to devils as a result of the construction of the road.

He said:

He said: “There is an increased threat, there is no doubt about that.”

There is a much better way and that is to elect a Liberal Government next year so we can implement our superior Tarkine Agenda, which is a long-term strategy to realise the region’s potential without compromising that which makes it so special. Unlike Labor’s plan, ours has strong stakeholder support because we have listened to their views.

The Liberals have also committed to providing additional funds to market Tasmania as a tourist destination to try to drive our economy forward, while Labor is slashing the tourism budget.

Labor is taking Tasmanian tourism in the wrong direction.

W: www.willhodgman.com.au