Cradle Muddle …

The Bob Brown Foundation says Premier Will Hodgman should publish his plan for the extra hundreds of thousands of people who will spill off the proposed Cradle Valley cable car onto the fragile Dove Lake precinct.

‘With the muddled planning Minister Hodgman has for this picturesque but fragile part of Tasmania’s global attractiveness, questions arise which have not been answered,’ Bob Brown said today. Amongst these are:

• what is the design and what are the components of the reception place at Dove Lake? Shelter. Toilets. Provisioning. Walkways. Viewing place. Scenery preservation. Ranger facilities. Waste removal. Cable car receptacle.

• will this too be privatised? If not, what will it cost the public to build and maintain?

• what is the number of passengers the cable car is projected to take to the lake in 2023, 2033 and 2043?

• what provision for biosecurity, for example against the spread of root rot disease, will be in place?

• what is the government strategy to divert visitors to other wild and scenic places outside the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area to take the pressure off the Cradle Mountain precinct?

• is there a plan for a massive publicity program with the cable car to exacerbate the huge tourism footprint already on the precinct?

• what percentage of private takings from the monopoly cable car access to Dove Lake will go to protecting the national park?

• will all private proposals be made public before decisions are finalised?

The Foundation opposes the privatisation of World Heritage Area facilities and proposes that all infrastructure inside the Area be publicly owned and operated with profits going directly to national park upkeep.
Jenny Weber Campaign Manager, Bob Brown Foundation