A strategy for off-roading on the west coast has been released by the Tasmanian Government.
Minister for Parks Nick Duigan claims that the plan balances 4WD opportunities with preservation of natural resources and cultural sites.
Aboriginal groups say that indigenous heritage should be properly protected before any decisions are made about vehicle access.
The Bob Brown Foundation describe the consultation process as a sham “with terms of reference that prohibited discussion of any closure of tracks or preventing off-road vehicle access to sensitive beaches.”
Read their statements below.
Media release – Nick Duigan, Minister for Parks, 20 May 2025
New strategy for sustainable off-road vehicle access and experiences on the west coast
The Tasmanian Government has released a comprehensive new strategy to help sustainably manage off-road vehicle access and improve recreational experiences within the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area (APCA) and wider west coast region.
Minister for Parks, Nick Duigan, said the West Coast Off-Road Vehicle Strategy is a key part of the Government’s $10 million investment in the region.
“The strategy sets out a clear vision for the APCA and surrounding west coast area to be recognised as a destination for challenging off-road adventures, while ensuring natural and cultural values are respected and protected,” Minister Duigan said.
Importantly, the strategy seeks to maintain access on existing tracks and improve facilities for local users and visitors to this unique part of Tasmania.
“This will include assessment and repairs to off-road tracks, identification and mitigation of impacts to cultural heritage and environmental values; planning and campground upgrades; and enhanced wayfinding, interpretation and information for off-road experiences in the region,” Minister Duigan said.
“I’d also like to recognise and thank all members of the APCA Management Committee for their support and guidance in working with stakeholders and the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service to deliver this important body of work.”
Investment in capital infrastructure also funded by this investment will enable the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service to implement the strategy and deliver improved experiences.
The PWS received 183 public submissions on the draft strategy during an eight-week ‘Have Your Say’ period in 2024. This feedback has helped shape the final strategy, with a submissions report also being released.
Consultation with key stakeholders, Tasmanian Aboriginal people and the local community will continue during the three-year implementation phase of the strategy.
The strategy and submission report is available here.
Media release – various Aboriginal groups, 21 May 2025
ARTHUR PIEMAN OFF ROAD STRATEGY OPPOSED BY ABORIGINES
GOVERNMENT FOCUS ALL WRONG – SHOULD BE EMPHASIS ON PROTECTING ABORIGINAL HERITAGE RATHER THAN PROMOTING 4WD ACCESS
The key Aboriginal groups in Tasmania are opposed to the State government’s Arthur-Pieman Off Road Strategy because ‘they have the wrong focus: instead of focusing on protecting Aboriginal heritage, the report emphasizes improving access to 4WD’, spokesman Michael Mansell said today.
Mr Mansell, speaking for Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania and Cape Barren Aboriginal Association, said the groups want the government to suspend implementation of its Off Road Strategy pending talks with the Aboriginal community.
Mr Mansell said the collective group’s view is that:
An Aboriginal driven strategy for protecting unique Aboriginal heritage on the west coast must be developed before any other action takes place. The Off Road Strategy report jumps the gun by not putting 4WD access into the cultural context of Aboriginal heritage protection; the government is going about it back to front – considering Aboriginal heritage protection in the context of assumed increased vehicle access to the area.
The focus of government action should be protection of Aboriginal cultural context on the west coast and access proposals should only be considered in that context.
The west coast Aboriginal cultural area which comprises lands from Marrawah to Pieman Heads to Trial Harbour has Aboriginal cultural values that are recognised and partially protected by Tasmanian and Commonwealth laws, and ICOMOS the international heritage body.
The strategy for protecting Aboriginal heritage must include a new piece of Aboriginal heritage protection law. This government has been promising such a law since 2014. Former Aboriginal Affairs Minister Roger Jaensch described the current legislation as completely out of date and unworkable. This should be the government priority well ahead of strategies for increasing 4WD vehicle access.
Aboriginal people want the government to agree to identify focal points of vehicle access and walking tracks only beyond those focal points.
Mr Mansell said that in 2026 the Tasmanian government tried to side-step federal heritage protection of some of this area by proposing to harden existing tracks and increasing access. Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre took the state to the federal court and gained declarations that such actions are contrary to federal law and could not be legally done. The Tasmanian government is trying to twist its response in a ‘new’ strategy based on old thinking.
This matter is likely to end up in the federal court again unless the Tasmanian government meets with Aboriginal people to sort the mess out.
Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 22 May 2025
Rockliff backs off-road destruction of Takayna’s coast
The Rockliff Liberal Government has doubled down on off-road vehicle destruction of ecological and Aboriginal heritage values on Tasmania’s west coast including Takayna’s Western Tasmanian Aboriginal Cultural Landscape National Heritage Area.
The government’s comprehensive failure to protect this globally significant Aboriginal heritage landscape includes failures to close tracks through Aboriginal heritage sites, issuing of permits to allow off-road vehicles to drive through Aboriginal heritage sites, failures to police illegal and unpermitted off-road activity, and a failure to recognise the rights of the Aboriginal community as traditional owners.
“The Rockliff Liberal Government’s failure to address the real problem of destruction by off-road vehicles follows a sham consultation process with terms of reference that prohibited discussion of any closure of tracks or preventing off-road vehicle access to sensitive beaches,” said Scott Jordan, Bob Brown Foundation Takayna / Tarkine Campaigner.
The beaches are also important nesting grounds for numerous shorebird species.
“For a decade we have seen the Rockliff Liberal Government turn a blind eye to illegal and destructive off-road vehicle use in Takayna’s Arthur Pieman Conservation Area. Now instead of policing that activity, he wants to fund it”, said Scott Jordan.
“The Aboriginal community is right to feel betrayed. This Premier is knowingly committing public money to activities that will continue the destruction of one of Australia’s richest Aboriginal cultural landscapes. We have forty thousand years of Aboriginal heritage written into this coastline, and this Premier says it is ok to use it as a publicly subsidised off-road vehicle playground. This is Premier Rockliff’s Juukan Gorge moment”.
“We share the grief and anger felt by the Aboriginal community. We commit to standing with them, and all decent Tasmanians in their efforts to see Takayna protected and returned to Aboriginal ownership,” said Scott Jordan.
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