The Wilderness Society is calling on the Premier and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Will Hodgman to declare the likely cost of completing the Public Environment Report ( PER, http://epbcnotices.environment.gov.au/_entity/annotation/9448c45a-abf5-e711-b191-005056ba00a8/a71d58ad-4cba-48b6-8dab-f3091fc31cd5?t=1515568108825 ), a detailed report ordered by the Federal Government to assess Mr Hodgman’s proposal to expand destructive 4WD tracks across an Aboriginal cultural landscape on the takayna coast.
Submissions on the draft guidelines for the PER closed last night, with the Wilderness Society supporting the scope and rigour of the guidelines, which compel Mr Hodgman to undertake extensive on-ground studies, an analysis of the ‘facilitated’ impacts of expanding 4WD tracks (like off-track damage), and assessing alternatives to expanding the tracks, including not opening them at all.
“If these guidelines are approved, as they should be, Premier Hodgman will need to oversee a detailed and complex set of studies and reports to make the case for his plan to expand these tracks,’ said Vica Bayley, spokesperson of the Wilderness Society.
“Putting aside the actual cost of track construction, like the ridiculous proposal to lay plastic matting over giant middens so vehicles can drive over them, compiling the application report itself is likely to cost many hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct costs and staff time.
“In the interest of transparency, as we go into an election where Premier Hodgman is so clearly prepared to put cheap local politics ahead of Aboriginal heritage and the notion of ‘resetting the relationship’, the public deserve to know how much this proposal will cost, simply to get it assessed.
“If the federal environment laws under which this proposal will be assessed are worth their salt, it will be rejected, meaning Mr Hodgman is likely committing public resources to undertake a vain, politically-motivated exercise.
“The public deserve to know how much this destructive action will cost and how long it will take.”
“Quite clearly, this money would be better invested in plan that respects Aboriginal heritage, protects the environment and builds, as opposed to breaks down, bridges that lead to reconciliation in Tasmania.
The Wilderness Society and Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre will tonight launch a joint exhibition of photographs from the onCountry program, a collaboration bringing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people together on the takayna coast.
More information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1540485885999081/
www.wilderness.org.au
Vica Bayley, Tasmanian Campaign Manager The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc.
