End of the Tarkine Road. The alternative vision …

The Tarkine National Coalition has welcomed the news today that the controversial Forestry Tasmania Tarkine Drive road will not proceed.

Premier Bartlett has conceded the end of the road in a doorstop today, giving an official end to the doomed project.

“This is tremendous outcome for the Tarkine”, said Tarkine National Coalition’s Tourism Project Officer, Scott Jordan.

“The Tarkine National Coalition and a wide range of allies from the tourism sector, local governerment and general community have earned a well deserved win, and it shows the wide community support for the protection of Tarkine.”

The TNC supports alternate options for the $23million.

“We now have an opportunity to return to the table and work together to see the exciting tourism potential of the Tarkine realised in a way that preserves the natural values and integrity of the Tarkine visitor experience.”

“The Cradle Coast Authority’s Tarkine Tourism Development Strategy provides a blueprint for the development of the Tarkine in a responsible and strategic way. The Strategy had broad consensus from stakeholders and we would urge Premier Bartlett to work with the stakeholder group to redirect the $23million to fund initiatives of the strategy.”

Paul O’Halloran MP Greens Member for Braddon

COMMONSENSE DECISION ON TARKINE ROAD IS WELCOME
Re-Allocate Funding to Local Projects

The Tasmanian Greens today welcomed the Premier’s decision to abandon the divisive Tarkine Loop Road proposal as a victory for commonsense, and announced their intention to continue pursuing the economic, social and environmental benefits that will flow through to the West and North West Coasts through the protection of the Tarkine in a new Tarkine National Park.

Greens Member for Braddon, Paul O’Halloran MP, said that the Greens have already identified a range of job-creating projects around the West and North West Coasts, as outlined in the Greens’ Diverse Economic Vision for the Tarkine Region, and expect that the Labor and Liberal Parties will support many, if not all, of these sustainable initiatives.

“The Premier’s decision to abandon the Tarkine Road proposal is a victory for commonsense, and a victory for those who support the Greens’ vision to spend the allocated funds on a range of job-creating projects right around the entire region,” said Mr O’Halloran.

“Hopefully the current government, as well as future administrations, will learn a hard lesson from this aborted project and stop blindly embarking on divisive projects that go against the wishes of the local community, and that appear designed solely to create division for political benefit alone.”

“I asked my first ever question in parliament about this issue and I am very excited that the West and North West Coasts are now in a position to benefit from a range of job-creating initiatives instead of this single divisive project.”

“The Greens will continue pursuing a Tarkine National Park, as well as the range of job-creating projects and initiatives outlined in our Diverse Economic Vision for the Tarkine Region,” said Mr O’Halloran.

Download:
“A Diverse Economic Vision for the Tarkine Region,” released by Nick McKim MP and Cassy O’Connor MP, March 2009:

Tarkine_Alternative_Spend_McKim-OConnor_Mar09.pdf

Reference:
Greens MP Paul O’Halloran’s first question in Parliamentary Question Time,:
Wednesday 5 May 2010 – Part 2 – Pages 49 – 65
ENVIRONMENT – TARKINE LOOP ROAD
[2.54 p.m.]
Mr O’HALLORAN (Question) – My question is to the Premier. Premier, as you would recall, in December last year your Government had to admit that you had delayed the push to build the controversial Tarkine road before the March State election, and also that the allocated moneys had been unlocked to fund other projects in the north-west. Premier, the election saw both the Tasmanian Greens and the Liberals campaigning to scrap the divisive Tarkine road, resulting in total combined first preferences of these two parties of 38 012 votes over Labor’s 25 947. Given that election result, will you now guarantee that the road will not appear in the forthcoming Budget, but instead any remaining funds allocated to this road will be redirected to less divisive, more acceptable and more broadly based job-creating options such as those outlined in the Greens’ diverse economic vision for the Tarkine region policy document?
Mr BARTLETT – I thank the member for his first question in the House, the first new member to ask a question. I have no argument at all with the statistics and the preamble. I seem to remember last year I had a lot of arguments with preambles to questions from this group, but I accept your preamble as a reasonable thing, except for one item. There was $23 million allocated over the course of the forward Estimates in three years. I cannot remember exactly what the allocations were. Late last year, in recognition of the required environmental checks and balances, to which we were and are totally committed, and the needed legislative amendment, as I understand, to make that project happen, I allocated some $6 million of the $23 million to projects that were nominated by councils and other stakeholders across the north-west coast. From memory they were things like the Wynyard wharf, the Ulverstone waterfront and a number of others that were about enhancement for tourism.
Ultimately our desire to build this road was and is based on the fact that we want more tourists coming off the two new ferries in 2014 to be turning right, not turning left, and heading up the coast. I think we all want that.
Ms O’Connor – Set up a national park.
Mr BARTLETT – I did not say I wanted a Tarkine national park.
Mr McKim – It would be a good thing.
Mr BARTLETT – We also recognise that this road, as a forestry road and given the need to change it to a tourist road, would need some legislative approach. I am not stupid enough to bury my head in the sand and say that will be easy to get through this House. Therefore I can say that the State Budget, some 40-odd days away –
Mr Gutwein – Forty-three.
Mr BARTLETT – You would have made such a good treasurer, Pete, if only you had joined the right party. He is not as good as Airdy, of course, but not bad nevertheless.
I will not be indicating at this point what is in and out of the Budget but I do recognise that a legislative requirement for this project will be extremely difficult to achieve.

Christine Milne:

Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, today welcomed the Bartlett government’s decision to dump the Tarkine Road and called on the government to now move for a Tarkine National Park.

“Now is a great opportunity to transfer the funds that had been allocated to the destructive road into our critically under-resourced Parks and Wildlife Service.”

http://www.christinemilne.org.au/| www.GreensMPs.org.au

Paul O’Halloran MP
Greens Member for Braddon

The Tasmanian Greens today called on the Labor and Liberal Parties to throw their support behind the re-allocation of Tarkine Road funds into the Greens’ Diverse Economic Vision for the Tarkine Region, a 12-project plan that builds on the work already undertaken by the Cradle Coast Authority in its Tarkine Tourism Development Strategy 2008.

Greens Member for Braddon, Paul O’Halloran MP, said the Tarkine has the potential to become the Kakadu of North West Tasmania, and the Greens still strongly believe that the declaration of a Tarkine National Park will give the region the protection that it deserves, while driving huge flow-on benefits for the communities of the West and North West coasts.

Mr O’Halloran also called on the government to withdraw its Tarkine Road referral to the Federal Government now that the project has been abandoned.

“The Greens’ Diverse Economic Vision for the Tarkine Region will deliver an exciting new future for the Tarkine, and for communities from across the West and North West Coasts,” said Mr O’Halloran.

“The Greens would spend the $23 million allocated towards the Tarkine Road on the establishment of an Arthur River Visitor Information and Cultural Interpretation Centre; strategic and modest road upgrades; a Tarkine Great Short Walks Program, a multi day mountain bike track, improved camping and visitor signage and facilities.”

“Our alternative Tarkine spend would also redress the chronic under-resourcing of Parks and Wildlife Service management of protected areas in the Tarkine, making sure those extraordinary natural and cultural values are looked after for all Tasmanians and visitors from elsewhere to enjoy.”

“The Greens are calling on the Labor and Liberal Parties to acknowledge the work that has gone into this 12-project plan, and to throw their support behind spreading the benefits of local job-creating projects around small communities across the West and North West coasts,” said Mr O’Halloran.

Download: “A Diverse Economic Vision for the Tarkine Region,” released by Nick McKim MP and Cassy O’Connor MP, March 2009

Labor’s Tarkine backflip long overdue: Now let’s move forward

David Bartlett has finally seen sense and effectively put an end to his plans for a divisive loop road through the Tarkine.

In his latest backflip, David Bartlett has finally acknowledged Labor’s plans for the Tarkine loop road were poorly conceived, divisive and did not represent the best way forward for the region.

The Labor-Green Government should now be looking to the Tasmanian Liberal’s Tarkine Agenda which involves significant investment in infrastructure, marketing and management for the area.

Our proposal will add value to the region and provide far better value for money.

It is critically important, particularly for the Circular Head region, that funds set aside for the now defunct loop road are invested in the area and used to enhance the Tarkine, in line with our plan.

While we believe the Tasmanian Liberals Tarkine agenda represents the best way forward, we would welcome further engagement with all relevant stakeholders including revisiting the Cradle Coast Authority Tarkine Tourism Development Strategy in order to achieve the most positive outcome for the Tarkine region.

Now that Labor has finally dropped its divisive Tarkine plan, we have an opportunity to invest in the region in a consultative and constructive way.
March2009_AlternativeTarkineSpend.pdf