Tasmanian farmers today made an 11th hour plea to the state’s Upper House not to endorse the federal government’s latest World Heritage nomination by embodying it in the Tasmanian forests agreement legislation.

The Legislative Council tomorrow will consider an amendment put by the Member for Rumney, Tony Mulder, that, on the face of it, imposes conditions on any new reserves being created as a result of the agreement.

“However, it is built on a false premise,” Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association chief executive Jan Davis said today.

“It accepts the federal government’s proposed 170,000 ha extension to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

“Federal environment minister Tony Burke forwarded that nomination to UNESCO without any consultation with Tasmania, without any discussion with neighbouring private landowners whose rights will be severely affected.

“This nomination was the final indignity for private landowners, many of whom have forested land and have been kept out of the loop throughout this three-year process.

“This whole fiasco has been wrong, wrong, wrong,” Ms Davis said. “It has been paternalistic in nature: we know better than anybody else, don’t you worry yourselves about it.”

Ms Davis said that if the Upper House supported the Mulder amendment it would be a clear message to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee that Tasmania accepted the nomination as legitimate.

“That would be a travesty.”

The TFGA is one of many organisations that have lodged a formal objection to the federal government’s nomination of the so-called ‘extension’ of the existing WHA.

TFGA has repeatedly sought access to high resolution maps to assist landowners in determining whether the boundaries impinge on their properties. However, both state and federal governments have ignored these requests.

“We know that there is private property inside the boundary of the proposed extension. However, at this stage the only identified parcels belong to green allies – which confirms the fact that governments are consulting with some people but not with others. Without these maps, it is impossible to tell where the actual boundaries go and so who will be affected by a further declaration,” Ms Davis said.

There is also no clarity at this stage as to how the important issue of buffers is to be handled. There is no publicly available information to indicate whether the required buffers are included in the proposed 170,000 ha extension; or whether it is assumed these will be an additional area. If the buffers are outside the 170,000 ha, then they must be on private land.
“Buffers on private land would effectively sterilise adjoining land. Yet there’s been no confirmation of where the buffers are; no discussion with neighbouring landowners; and no talk of compensation. This is effectively theft of private land by stealth,” Ms Davis said.

“Our clear message to the Legislative Council is to follow their own findings in their select committee and reject this legislation. Tell the Government to go back and do their job properly and inclusively.”
Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association chief executive Jan Davis