Coroner & Legal
Minister Hunt must act after Tasmanian Government commits to destruction of Aboriginal heritage
*Pic: Bob McMahon’s picture of dune buggy damage in the (once-protected) area
Save the Tarkine has called on Minister Greg Hunt to urgently act to prevent the destruction of Aboriginal heritage in the Tarkine following the announcement yesterday that the Tasmanian Government will reopen off-road vehicle tracks through sensitive Aboriginal heritage sites in a National Heritage listed area of the Tarkine (tarkayna).
The tracks were closed by the former government, to protect these sites from ongoing damage from off-road vehicle users.
“Minister Hunt must call in this proposal under the National Heritage powers of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. As a National Heritage List site, The Minister has a legal obligation to assess this proposal and protect these heritage sites in accordance with Australian environmental law”, said Save the Tarkine Campaign Coordinator, Scott Jordan.
“The Australian Heritage Council has described the Tarkine coast as having Australia’s richest concentrations of Aboriginal heritage sites and the actions of the Tasmanian Government are reprehensible”.
“Save the Tarkine will stand with the Palawa people in defending these sites”.
• Adam Brooks: Labor-Green Arthur-Pieman lock-up reversed
• Chris Arthur in Comments on Adam Brooks’ Media Release … Adam Brooks: Labor-Green Arthur-Pieman lock-up reversed, HERE Well after 15 years of community engagement, management plans, hundreds of thousands of dollars the old catch cry of we were not consulted has appeared again “consultation does not mean agreement” so the costal track which effectively damages thousands of years of indigenous landscape is now vulnerable to ATVs, dirt bikes, 4wds the arguments all centred around vehicular access being pre eminent not any other values they were always discounted. Chris Arthur OAM