Will Premier Rockliff support Maydena’s tourism aspirations or sacrifice them for more unsustainable forest destruction?

• Maydena’s two most popular destinations - Maydena Bike Park and the Junee Cave—threatened by forest and habitat destruction, road closures and river pollution

• Forestry Tasmania’s forest destruction risks highjacking significant taxpayer investment in Enduro World Championship at Maydena

• Community Rights of yet another local community—Maydena residents—are being ignored

• Government’s aim for tourism industry to be carbon neutral by 2025 being trashed by Tasmania’s biggest source of CO2 emissions: the native forest logging

  

The Wilderness Society is urging the Premier of lutruwita / Tasmania, Jeremy Rockliff MP, to support Maydena’s tourism aspirations and veto two logging operations by the state-owned logging agency, Forestry Tasmania, that threaten its most popular destinations at peak tourist season.

“The shadow of logging has fallen across yet another local community, without notice or consultation, and threatens two prime tourist destinations in hard-pressed Maydena,” said Wilderness Society Tasmania campaigner Alice Hardinge.

“Just as the global mountain biking spotlight focuses on Maydena in southern lutruwita / Tasmania for the prestigious Enduro World Series, the Tasmanian Government is about to start logging the local native forest next to it.

“Maydena Bike Park hosting the prestigious Enduro World Series and the Junee Cave are popular tourism destinations that don’t involve forest destruction yet they are now threatened by a logging industry that destroys more value than it creates.

“The Enduro World Series opening round should be a showcase for the globally important ancient forests of cultural significance to the palawa people, not of unsustainable and unpopular forest destruction.

“The Tasmanian Government has invested thousands of dollars of public funds to support the Enduro event. Why would the government undermine its own investments by sending in its logging agency to trash the beautiful forest backdrop to a prestigious mountain bike event.

“Worse still, Forestry Tasmania is also hijacking the $1.5 million the Tasmanian Government has allocated for the tourism industry to become ‘carbon neutral’ by 2025 ‘to appeal to both domestic and international travellers’.

“This is a test for Premier Rockliff: Will he look to the future or keep coddling the state’s favourite vested interest, the native forest logging industry?

“The Maydena community doesn’t deserve to wake up one morning to discover its backyard is being logged—and without consultation. Maydena residents need their community rights respected—the decision process needs to be one of transparency, integrity and accountability.

“Native forest logging is already lutruwita / Tasmania’s single biggest source of CO2 emissions. Instead of demonstrating potential carbon-neutral progress, the Tasmanian government risks showcasing to international guests its high-emissions forest destruction.

“Maydena is the gateway to the legendary Styx giant tree area, where some forests are protected from logging. The Maydena area gets more value from tourism, carbon sequestration and ecosystem services than it does from logging them at a loss,” said Ms Hardinge.

For more info: Alice Hardinge, Wilderness Society Tasmania campaigner, 0421 819 679