In a report in the Canberra Times, former UTAS environmental scientist Professor Hamish McCallum has suggested that roading for new mining could have a tenfold increase in roadkill of the endangered Tasmanian devil.
Now Griffith University’s environment department head, Professor Hamish McCallum, said that the impact of increased traffic of heavy vehicles would ”effectively decimate” the populations of Tasmanian devils, in a refuge that remains free of a deadly facial tumour disease.
”This is a serious concern, and yes, it could be time to consider whether roadkill should be listed [in law] as a key threatening process to native wildlife like the Tasmania devil,” he said. (Quoted in Canberra Times 22/11/2011)
This creates an urgency to calls for protection of the Tarkine under National Heritage Listing. This area was covered by the Tarkine Emergency National Heritage Listing until December 2010 when federal Environment Minister Tony Burke allowed the Tarkine Emergency National Heritage Listing to lapse citing the removal of the immediate threat of the original Tarkine Road.
“The lapsing of the National Heritage Listing last December has left this area exposed and there is a urgent need for National Heritage protection for this wild and unique place. Companies including Venture are using the removal of the heritage protections to ramp up exploration activities including roading and drilling that are having a significant effect on the values of the area, and increasing the risks to this important Tasmanian Devil population,” said Tarkine National Coalition spokesperson Scott Jordan.
Last week, in response to the Venture Minerals’ Mount Lindsay open cut mine proposal inside the Meredith Ranges Regional Reserve, the Tarkine National Coalition along with partners WWF, Australian Conservation Foundation, The Wilderness Society, Tasmanian Conservation Trust, Environment Tasmania and North West Environment Centre have lodged a new nomination for Tarkine Emergency National Heritage Listing.
“The Mount Lindsay mine is a Pilbara style open cut super pit that will devastate a large area of the Tarkine rainforest wilderness within an existing reserve. The 3.5 x 3km disturbance area is the equivalent of 420 Melbourne Cricket Grounds and a 220m depth being over twice the height of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It will add huge volumes of traffic not only on site, but on the 150km transport route”.
“Enough damage has occurred to the Tarkine on this Minister’s watch. He must act to secure this area for the Tasmanian devil to have a future in the wild.”
The Mount Lindsay site is part of the Australian Heritage Council’s recommended 433,000 hectare Tarkine National Heritage Area, and is within the Meredith Ranges Regional Reserve created in the 2002 out of the Tasmanian Regional Forests Agreement.
The company has acknowledged an impact on the Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii and Spotted-tailed quoll Dasyurus maculatus subsp. maculates, in their referral documents.
First published: 2011-11-23 12:21 PM
Thursday: Scott Jordan, Campaign Coordinator Tarkine National Coalition:Tarkine Road re-lodging provides a clear trigger for Emergency National Heritage Listing
Will Minister Tony Burke honour his promise?.
Tarkine National Coalition was notified by Department Of Infrastructure Energy and Resources (Tas) yesterday afternoon that the revised Tarkine Road proposal was being lodged for EPBC assessment by close of business.
Whilst he revised road project has had some of the most contentious aspects removed, including the Meunna to Tayatea section that included new roading, sealing of existing roads in critical Tasmanian devil remains in the project brief. Sealing of roads in the area has been shown to have a dramatic effect on Tasmanian devil populations, with the Arthur River Road sealing doubling the number of devil’s killed.
TNC has had discussions with DIER regarding possible trialling of mitigation measures to determine if impacts could be negated, but at this point these trials have not commenced, and therefore the TNC believes that this referral is premature and cannot support the project in the absence of critical data.
”This is a serious concern, and yes, it could be time to consider whether roadkill should be listed [in law] as a key threatening process to native wildlife like the Tasmania devil,” he said. (Quoted in Canberra Times 22/11/2011)
This creates an urgency to calls for protection of the Tarkine under National Heritage Listing. This area was covered by the Tarkine Emergency National Heritage Listing until December 2010 when federal Environment Minister Tony Burke allowed the Tarkine Emergency National Heritage Listing to lapse citing the removal of the immediate threat of the original Tarkine Road.
“We have acted in good faith to attempt to find solutions to access issues for the Tarkine, however our bottom line has always been the protection of the Tasmanian devil, and the onus is on DIER to provide evidence that they can proceed without impacting on this last wild population of disease free Tasmanian devils,” said Tarkine National Coalition spokesperson Scott Jordan.
“Despite over 14 months since discussions began, no trails have occurred and so we cannot support this referral.”
TNC had recommended to DIER that they refer a single section of road connecting unsealed portions of the South Arthur Forest Drive, an existing tourist loop with a lower risk profile than the remainder of the road proposal, in order to facilitate field testing of mitigations measures on newly sealed and existing sealed sections of the road prior to committing to the entire project.
TNC is calling on Minister Tony Burke to honour a promise given last December that any re-lodging of the Tarkine Road would prompt him to immediately and automatically reapply the Tarkine Emergency National Heritage Listing. The Minister gave the withdrawal of the original Tarkine Road proposal as his grounds for his decision to allow the listing to lapse in December 2010.
“We are calling on Minister Tony Burke to stand by his word, and ensure that the revised Tarkine Road project has to meet the same assessment against National Heritage criteria that the original proposal was to meet.”
“This is a defining moment for Tony Burke. He must act today.”
The TNC and partner groups (WWF, Australian Conservation Foundation, The Wilderness Society, Tasmanian Conservation Trust, Environment Tasmania and North West Environment Centre) resubmitted a Emergency National Heritage Listing nomination last week, triggered by the threats to National Heritage Values of the Mount Lindsay and other mining proposals.
The Tarkine Road route includes the transport route for the proposed Shree Mineral’s Nelson Bay River mine currently before the Minister for EPBC assessment.
• Senator Christine Milne: Tarkine Road re-appearance should trigger Emergency Heritage Listing
The re-lodgement of the Tarkine Road for federal approval gives Environment Minister, Tony Burke, an immediate reason to finally put the Tarkine wilderness on the National Heritage list, the Australian Greens said today.
The Tasmanian government’s withdrawal of the Tarkine Road proposal, which would have a devastating impact on the last remaining disease-free Tasmanian devil population, was given by the Minister as the key reason previous emergency listing of the Tarkine was allowed to expire.
“The Tarkine is a precious wilderness area that is under serious threat and needs urgent protection,” Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.
“A succession of Environment Ministers has been sitting on proposals to list the Tarkine as National Heritage for a record seven years. It is well past time to recognise this magnificent wilderness for what it is and protect it.
“Mr Burke is already facing a deadline of December 2 to list the Tarkine as National Heritage if he is to be able to consider its heritage values when assessing the first of several proposed mines.
“The Minister is on notice that, if he chooses not to list the Tarkine before December 2 he is actively choosing to prioritise mining over world-class natural and cultural heritage.
“With the re-appearance of the road proposal, Mr Burke has every reason he needs, if he felt he needed more reasons, to immediately move to protect the Tarkine and list it as National Heritage.
“No more excuses.”
• GREENS PUSH FOR TARKINE NATIONAL PARK
As Feds Drag Feet in Mining Dust
Paul O’Halloran MP
Greens Member for Braddon
The Tasmanian Greens today increased their pressure for a Tarkine National Park, after tabling a motion in the State Parliament directing the Environment Minister, Brian Wightman, to reserve the region under the Tasmanian Nature Conservation Act 2002.
Greens Member for Braddon, Paul O’Halloran MP, said that the ongoing delays to protect the region, at both the Federal and State levels, was leaving it vulnerable and eroding the region’s world-class environmental and cultural heritage values.
“Through deliberate non-action by both the State and the Commonwealth, to move on recommended protection listing, the unique Tarkine region is being left exposed to an encroaching ‘death by a thousand cuts’,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has clearly turned his back on his responsibility to protect this region with his continual procrastination over listing it on the National Heritage Register. This refusal to act is clearly designed to facilitate the current mining interest seeking access to the Tarkine.”
“The desperate plight of the endangered iconic Tasmanian Devil should also be a key motivator for both Minister Wightman and Mr Burke, to do everything in their respective legislative powers to secure the Devil’s last facial tumour disease-free habitat stronghold.”
“The State does not need to wait for the Commonwealth to do right by this unique region and the many native species reliant on its integrity being kept intact. Minister Wightman can have the area proclaimed a National park under the provisions of the Nature Conservation Act 2002.”
“Given that the Australian Heritage Council has already examine an assessment of the region, the Greens’ propose the Councils 2010 recommended boundaries for national Heritage Listing would be a logical starting point by which to determine any National Park boundaries.”
“The Greens would be happy for a draft Tarkine National Park Bill, ready to be introduced during the first half of next year, based on the AHC proposal also be made available for public comment prior to debate.”
“This move making it clear that there is a live and current motion for debate on declaring a Tarkine National Park sends a loud message to the community, to not give up hope, as in the New Year the State Parliament could very well decide on protecting the Tarkine,” Mr O’Halloran said.
