Pic: Nicole Anderson
The Tasmanian Greens today (Tues) described as ridiculous the decision by State and Federal Labor to spend $100,000 to “search” for an iconic north west wilderness tourism experience, when the Tarkine already fits the bill perfectly.
In State Parliament today, Greens Member for Braddon Paul O’Halloran MP called on the Minister for Tourism to explain his recent announcement in a media release headed “Search begins for iconic new NW experiences”.
“The Greens fully support the need to boost and market our tourism industry, and get more people to visit the north-west and to stay longer,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“While Labor spends taxpayers’ money searching for an iconic wilderness in north-west Tasmania to attract visitors, the world has already found the Tarkine.”
“The search is over, and all that’s left now is to set about providing protection to the region to create business certainty and encourage sustainable investment.”
“The myopic drive to mine the Tarkine into oblivion appears to have blinded Labor to the incredible asset that’s sitting there right under its nose.”
“The Tarkine is famous worldwide for its unique natural values, so much so that CNN recently recognised it as the world’s top remaining wilderness area.”
“How much more international recognition does the Tarkine need before we put long term jobs ahead of a short grab for cash by the mining industry?”
“It irony of the search for an iconic experience is that Tasmania would leverage more bang-for-the-100,000-bucks by promoting a dedicated iconic Tarkine National Park, which offers a truly unique wilderness and cultural experience.”
