Barry and Charmaine Lovett, avid bushwalkers from Wagga Wagga, were very disappointed today as they tried to approach a representative of Venture Minerals Ltd at the Tasmanian Minerals Council Annual Conference. ‘Bazza’ and ‘Shazza’, as they are affectionately known to their friends, have been looking forwards to this trip to Tasmania for quite some time.
“We heard about the Tarkine up in Wagga,” said Bazza, “Apparently it contains one of the biggest remaining tracts of cool temperate rainforest in the WORLD.”
“And isn’t it now a World Heritage Area?” asked Shazza, “I read something about the nomination in the paper recently.”
Bazza and Shazza were not allowed to enter the conference, being turned away by security guards at the door. “We just wanted to speak to one of these Venture guys, we know they are pretty familiar with the Tarkine and thought they could point us in the direction of some special places,” Shazza lamented. “Even though there’s so much tourist hype out there, it’s difficult to find out where to go as a foreign tourist. It’s almost like there’s a conspiracy trying to keep tourists out and get more mines in.” She said.
Bazza and Shazza’s story is sad, but is unfortunately shared by a number of tourists to Tasmania every year, who are not quite so creative or gutsy as to approach these mining companies personally. Tasmania’s economy could benefit so much from tourist opportunities, but sadly the Tarkine is being sold off piece by piece to be turned into open-cut mines, which will destroy this place forever. It is a real shame for all the other tourists who come to this state, that they will miss out on the opportunity to experience these places.
“There will always be tourists and tourist opportunities have endless potential, but I hear that some of these mines will only run for 2 years!” said Shazza, “And what happens then? Tasmania will be left with barren wastelands where there used to be amazing ecosystems. Tourists don’t want to look at a barren wasteland.” She concluded.
Groundswell Tasmania
