Eric Hutchinson: Tasmanian environmentalists trash their own process

LYONS MP Eric Hutchinson has slammed comments by Tasmanian environment group leaders on the state’s proposed World Heritage de-listing as hypocritical.

An angry Mr Hutchinson said today that it was “a bit rich,’’ for environmental leaders to claim that the Federal Government’s application to the World Heritage Committee to de-list 74,000 of protected Tasmanian forest was an embarrassment and wasting the committee’s time.

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne said on Sunday after a draft decision released by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre recommended against the de-listing that there had never been any merit in the proposal.

“The point to make here is that these people have trashed their own process,’’ Mr Hutchinson said.

“They criticise the government for lack of consultation and for what they describe as cynical political strategies but their own processes in getting these 74,000 hectares listed in the first place were exactly that.’’

Mr Hutchinson said that the process to declare the 74,000 hectares in question needed to go back to the drawing board and be dealt with properly.

“By the World Heritage Committee’s own guidelines, this has not been dealt with appropriately,’’ he said.

“There was no consultation.
“For those people whose land borders the areas, there was no consultation.
“This was a cheap political stunt in the dying days of Tasmania’s Labor-Green government.’’

Mr Hutchinson said that former Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett was right in the decision that he made in 2009.

“He found that there had never been any threat from forestry practice in the state to World Heritage areas. He rejected the claims of the Wilderness Society then,’’ Mr Hutchinson said.

“Nothing has changed.’’
Lyons Liberal MHR Eric Hutchinson