Once again the Liberals have failed to read the room, this time by reviving a plan for a costly new Freycinet visitors centre and car park. This decision comes despite years of community opposition and a lack of supporting planning.
With the state’s dire budget situation, we must get our investment priorities right. So why are the Liberals pursuing a costly visitors centre no one wants, while ignoring calls for investment in areas its needed?
The 2019 Freycinet Master Plan, which first proposed a new visitors centre, was roundly rejected by the community because of its environmental impacts and potential negative impacts on Coles Bay businesses. Everyone thought the government had moved on from this misguided idea – until now.
Now we have the Liberals again proposing to spend millions on a different visitors centre and large car park. The plan would see the building constructed on an extremely environmentally sensitive site. This would go against everything that brings visitors to the regions – the unique natural wonder and environmental values.
Shuttle busses are certainly one part of the visitation solution. But Freycinet is not Cradle Mountain and the system will not work the same way. Unlike Cradle, Freycinet does not have a single entry-exit road, and Coles Bay itself is economically reliant on visitors travelling through the town.
Before any developments for Freycinet are drafted there must be a full traffic and transport assessment, an economic impact assessment, and an understanding of future growth plans so visitor management can be best planned. These are concerns first raised 7 years ago, but that are still unanswered.
