THE plan to build a major new tourist road through Tasmania’s Tarkine – Australia’s largest tract of temperate rainforest – appears to be dead in the water.
Opponents of the $25 million project today told The Weekend Australian they believed recent developments meant it was “highly unlikely” the 134km road would proceed.
This week has seen a series of set-backs for the controversial project, including a legal hitch that appears to require State Parliament to pass legislation to allow sections of the road to proceed.
On Monday, the federal Environment Department “stopped the clock” on its assessment of the project, citing “a range of uncertainties in relation to relevant listed threatened species”.
In response, Premier David Bartlett is considering diverting some of the funds allocated to the road to alternative “shovel ready” projects in the state’s north-west, where Labor is trying to avoid losing a seat at the March 20 poll.
Phill Pullinger, Tarkine campaigner and director of peak conservation group Environment Tasmania, said the developments gave opponents of the project real heart that it was doomed.
“I think it’s really highly unlikely that it’s going to happen,” Dr Pullinger said.
“From a procedural point of view it has to go through both houses of (state) Parliament: that can’t happen until April next year at the earliest.”
Polls are pointing to Labor losing its majority at the March 20 state election. If that were to occur, the opposition Greens and Liberals – which both vehemently oppose the Tarkine road – would have the numbers to block any required legislation.
In light of this, University of Tasmania corporate governance lecturer Tom Baxter today called on the project to be formally shelved until after the election to avoid wasting state and federal resources.
