Media Release
27 February 2010
Liberal Party position on Bay of Fires has potential to deliver better outcomes
The Tasmanian Conservation Trust welcomed the Tasmanian Liberal Party’s announcement yesterday that, if it wins government, it will re-start the public consultation process on the Bay of Fires national park.
“The rushed and poorly thought-out approach taken by the Labor Government was always going to lead to division and dissatisfaction,” said TCT Director Peter McGlone.
“Judging from views expressed in the media the over whelming response to the Labor proposal has been opposition or at best disappointment. The Premier was so shocked by the negative responses to his government’s park proposal that he has never released the summary of public comments report prepared by consultants Pitt and Sherry.
“The Liberal Party’s approach aligns with the TCT’s and has the potential to deliver a result which gives all interest groups most of what they want and achieve a better conservation outcome with less conflict.
“The TCT urges the Liberal Party to acknowledge the special connection which the Tasmanian Aboriginal community have to the Bay of Fires area and commit to handing important areas back to the Aboriginal people to own and manage.
“Part of the TCT’s role is to advocate for conservation of Aboriginal cultural heritage. Where possible the TCT believes Aboriginal people should be given ownership of land which is important to them as this is their right and will deliver better management outcomes.
“The Liberal Party must provide more details of their proposal and promise to avoid the mistakes of the totally unacceptable Labor process,” Mr McGlone concluded.
The Labor Government Bay of Fires consultation process was unacceptable because:
– major areas of public land were excluded from the proposed national park with no explanation e.g. Doctor’s Peak Forest Reserve and Anson’s Bay Conservation Area
– no consideration was given to including the southern part of Bay of Fires Conservation Area or State Forest
– it failed to give the Tasmanian public a chance to comment on the draft boundaries: these were forced on people
– no other potential uses for the public land were considered, most importantly transferring some land to the Aboriginal community
– no attempt was made to address ‘traditional uses’ such as dog walking and off-road vehicle use before making a decision on park boundaries
The TCT also encourages the Tasmanian Labor Party and Tasmanian Greens to join the Liberal Party and commit to re-starting the Bay of Fires consultation process.
Peter McGlone Tasmanian Conservation Trust
