Tasmania’s Freycinet National Park – home to the iconic Wineglass Bay – has found itself at the centre of a ‘how much development should we allow’ storm.
A state government proposal to handover an extra 5.6 hectares of the park to allow an expansion of the Freycinet Lodge has sparked outrage among some critics.
Under the proposal, the lodge’s owners – the RACT – would develop 12 cabins and 12 hardstands with ensuite facilities for campervans on the expanded area. The lodge currently has 60 cabins.
While the management plan of the Freycinet National Park explicitly forbids the lodge from expanding, moves are afoot to remove the relevant section … and that’s causing ructions.
“Government is displaying its willingness to bend the rules, to abuse proper process, and to change anything that gets in the way of these developments and I think that sets a very bad precedent,” Vica Bayley from the Wilderness Society told the ABC. And the Greens have attacked the plan as effectively locking up the wilderness for the enjoyment of the wealthy few. “Rather than respect the natural values of the Freycinet National Park and the right of all Tasmanians to access it for the cost of a parks’ pass, the minister is facilitating a weakening of the area’s protections and locking Tasmanians out of their own parks,” said Greens leader Cassy O’Connor. “You’ve got a Government that’s putting the profit of private developers ahead of the protection of our national parks and protected areas and public access … it’s a problem, and it’s just the beginning.”
However, Tasmania’s Minister for Environment and Parks, Matthew Groom, issued a statement describing the Greens as hypocrites. “They say we should use our magnificent natural assets to attract tourists, on the other hand they oppose every tourism development put forward,” he said.
The State Government hopes private development in the state’s national parks can help create 8,000 new jobs. The public can comment on the amendment until February 1.
