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Posted on behalf of the Fishers and Walkers Against Helicopter Access (FAWAHA) Facebook group:
”G’day anglers and bushwalkers. Following the snap election pulled by our ‘leader’ we’re meeting again – each Monday evening to discuss ways we can make those vying for power listen to the community they supposedly represent.
No more secret deals. It’s time to make them accountable.
Pizzas and beer and good people fighting to protect what’s important. Come join us. All welcome.”
The get-togethers will be held each Monday from this coming Monday, 12 April at The Duke, 192 Macquarie Street. Link to the Facebook post below:
It’s not just Lake Maybena-Halls Island
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-13/documents-reveal-rents-paid-on-wilderness-leases/100063744
Pardon my cynicism, but a couple details make me think any jubilation is premature and more than just a tad hopeful.
Point one being the painful fact that Halls Island is now a leasehold controlled by Wild Drake, thanks to some pretty sus maneuvers by the state govt. Point two being the well demonstrated and documented refusal of said state govt to show any consideration of the opinions of UNESCO, particularly in regard to proposed developments in the WHA.
I doubt we have gained any ground at all. The proposal sits on the desk of the Federal minister for the Environment where it has rested for some time now, while she tries to get the angles figured out on the most politically expedient decision.
Correct me if I am wrong by all means.
Ever hopeful…Jimmy
Agree Jimmy, and the Federal Minister is trying to manipulate the angles right now when it comes to the Great Barrier Reef and the inconvenient UNESCO deliberation. On the world stage, Lake Malbena is small fry compared to the Reef.
I found this gem about the Tasmania Central Plateau when re-reading Scholes’ “Fly-fisher in Tasmania”, published in 1961. He’s right. If Malbena and similar projects go ahead in the TWWHA, it will destroy the very thing that most people want to experience in a wilderness area.
“However, no matter how you arrive, these highland moors are a sight to behold, their charm growing steadily upon you the more you wander their remote expanses investigating their many waters. The further you go these lakes are less likely to have seen any angler previously and the trout therein are more ignorant of your cunning devices. But there is something other than the fishing which draws you back; perhaps remoteness and feeling of treading unknown paths like that of the explorer, or maybe the weird landscape which, notwithstanding its isolation, seems to whisper a soft message of beauty. Even though the wind be shrieking, tearing the breath from you chilled face, through your screwed-up eyes you can see it, inside you can feel it and would I be wrong if I said that sometimes you can hear it?
“Thus, here on Tasmania’s roof-top you may roam amongst a wonderland of lakes which, until recently, belonged only to the countless kangaroos and the trout. Some day roads will cross these moors, and although the angler may thrill at the fishing, something wonderful will be gone for ever.” David Scholes 1961.
Any delay or pause to this disgraceful and horrendous development is a good outcome!
That said, I think the hut was pretty much built when the Liberals were re-elected.
I can’t see Gutwein letting this development fail.
Great passage by David Scholes by the way – thanks.
Hi everyone.
Make no mistake – the UNESCO warning is huge. It puts up all sorts of red flags for Tassie’s tourism brand. Even today’s editorial in the government-friendly Mercury newspaper is calling for reconsideration of the EOI process and the Lake Malbena development.
On top of that, the warning places serious pressure on the Federal Government, which is reeling because of another UNESCO recommendation to list the Great Barrier Reef as a World Heritage site ‘in danger’. This is an extremely rare recommendation and sends all the wrong messages to overseas tourists. The Feds will be lobbied by all and sundry to fix up our image, and much of that pressure will come from traditional Liberal Party allies. The bottom line is that the Federal Environment minister is really feeling the pressure and will need to demonstrate some good will towards UNESCO. Malbena is the obvious place to start. So, when (if) public submissions are called under the EPBC provisions, it will be more important than ever for you to write to Minister Sussan Ley. This time your voice will be heard, and it may well make all the difference. (The minister cannot call for submissions until the developer has supplied more information, and that probably won’t happen until after the Supreme Court ruling, which is due to be handed down soon. Even then it is likely take months for the application to be processed. Your will be informed when the window for public submissions is advertised.)
Another thing about the UNESCO advice is that it provides evidence that Australia is failing to meet its international legal obligations for its World Heritage properties. If the Tasmanian Government remains intransient and the feds fail to exercise their obligations under the law, you can be sure that more legal action will be considered.
The UNESCO advice does not ensure that the Malbena project will be put out of its misery, but it is very bad news for the government and the developer. Unfortunately it is also very bad news for Tasmania’s tourism industry.
Thank you for that Greg. I dont stand corrected, but much better informed thanks to your efforts. We remain watchful and hopeful of at least silence to enjoy in those very special places.
Regards…Jimmy
Any update on where this is at and at what progress point of the project it is currently sitting at the moment.
Has the huts been erected and the landing pad installed?
The project is still waiting on approval at the Federal level. The Federal Minister of the Environment is yet to call for public submissions to the review her Department is required to conduct before the project can proceed.
For further information, Facebook users can follow the “Fishers and Walkers Tasmania” page (formerly “Fishers and Walkers Against Helicopter Access”).
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