Controversial Tyndall Range Proposed Walk Heads Further Down Wrong Track

• Ballooning $40m budget better invested in new national parks everyone can experience

• Tasmania heading in wrong direction compared to global ‘eco tourism’ leaders like Aotearoa (New Zealand)

• Tyndall Range process another secretive, untransparent tourism proposal with unclear criteria and lacking public scrutiny

Lutruwita’s (Tasmania’s) Tyndall Range proposed new walk is straying further down the wrong path, the Wilderness Society Tasmania said today.

“The Tyndall Range proposal is on the wrong track, with an out-of-control budget and an exclusive price tag, not to mention being proposed in the wettest part of the state,” said Wilderness Society campaigner Jimmy Cordwell.

Yesterday's announcement by the Tasmanian Government to push on with creating the Tyndall Range Walk includes a ballooning budget now doubled to $40 million - twice the original amount pledged.

“The feasibility study released yesterday tries to justify constructing a track in a stunning but remote, isolated, cold and wet location. By comparison, in a similar environment, Aotearoa/New Zealand’s government is spending millions to reduce visitation to moderate the environmental impacts of unsustainable, commercial tourism,” said Mr Cordwell.

“The $40M budget would be much better invested in Tasmania’s cash-strapped environment department to help it maintain existing public parks infrastructure and with urgent conservation efforts. There’s a real need to establish new national parks in the Tyndall Range, takayna/Tarkine, and the Aboriginal-community-proposed Kooparoona Niara (Great Western Tiers) National Park. Plus, the government should be focusing on spending the recently exposed $5.4M funding for World Heritage sites that’s sitting idle.

“This walk is another secretive process lacking public scrutiny, transparency, or clear and detailed selection criteria.

“This proposed Tyndalls Range walk represents ‘scenery mining’: Here we’ve got a special place worthy of World Heritage protection but instead we’ve got commercial development aimed at the top end of town excluding everyday hikers. Lake Malbena, South Coast Track, and now the Tyndalls - it’s death to our iconic wilderness by hundreds of kilometres of large cutting pathways.

“To be a world leader in sustainable tourism, the Gutwein Government needs to catch up with contemporary tourism approaches that protect and responsibly manage precious assets like World Heritage-grade landscapes.

“Like takayna/Tarkine and the Spero-Wanderer Wilderness areas, the Tyndall Range is rich with World Heritage values and should be incorporated into Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area,” said Mr Cordwell.

Contact: Jimmy Cordwell, 0447 721 882