Ms BADGER (Lyons) – I would like to fully endorse what my fellow member for Lyons, Ms Butler, has said.
Back in June, and again this morning, I spoke about heritage listed Halls Hut at Lake Malbena in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. We questioned the validity of the leaseholder’s claims that they could not undertake the urgently required remediation work to repair the hut which has fallen into disrepair on the watch of the new leaseholder. They claim that they could not do the work on the hut because it was undergoing EPBC assessment on their ill-conceived EOI heli‑tourism proposal for Malbena.
Now we have proof that these claims are false and the process of undertaking this work could be underway already. Since Reg Hall built that hut in the 1950s, it has been meticulously maintained by bushwalkers and nature lovers with care and diligence. That all stopped when the present leaseholder took over and locked out the public, despite his promises to Reg Hall’s daughter that he would permit public entry and, most importantly, care for the hut.
In signing over the lease, Reg’s daughter also stipulated that no other structures could be built and that only a few one‑way flights for conservation purposes could be undertaken. The new leaseholder has woefully responded with a proposal for 270 chopper flights and to let Reg’s legacy crumble.
Almost 5000 hectares of wilderness quality landscape – country with outstanding universal values – will be degraded by this proposal that has gone nowhere but backwards in the last 10 years.
In 2018, the leaseholder denied access to a walker on the grounds that urgent repairs were required to the hut. They could have not been so urgent since he has not lifted a finger in all that time. Lobby group Fishers and Walkers Tasmania, desperate to see the old bush hut preserved, have written multiple letters to state and federal government departments and agencies to shine a light on what they knew was deceptive behaviour from the proponent.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, Heritage Tasmania and the Secretary of the Department have all been parroting the leaseholders claims that no maintenance could be done on the hut due to the EPBC assessment on this Malbena helicopter fantasy.
Heritage Tasmania, Parks and various ministers have all been asked to intervene and save the hut and it appears it took a letter from Greg French, president of the Fishers and Walkers, to the Department Secretary to finally bring the reality of the situation to light.
It has now been confirmed by the federal department that this information is false. The department confirmed that the process for remediation work on this hut could have begun and that the federal assessment was never the barrier. This is shameful neglect by our supposed custodians of our heritage. It is beyond belief that ministers will follow the lead of a developer with a long record of misleading. He misled Reg Hall’s daughter, the public, the federal minister and he is now also misleading the Tasmanian Aboriginal community.
The EPBC requested a comprehensive landscape wide cultural heritage assessment. The process states that a proponent should comply with the required extra information within a reasonable time frame and without undue delay.
The proponent is required to consult the land owners of trowmakamener and the Aboriginal community. We have confirmed this has not been done. The Halls Island project is going nowhere fast. An RTI revealed the proponent does not intend to do that extensive work, but plans to revise a desktop survey from 2019. That is not what the department requested at all. This is disrespecting the process and even worse, the Tasmanian Aboriginal community.
Today in Question Time we heard the government claim that they backed sustainable projects that enhance our park and World Heritage area. Well, evident by this shameful neglect, the EOI process is doing quite the opposite. If the Liberals were serious about appropriate tourism for our parks and protected areas, then they will step up and they will take back the private lease on Lake Malbena and for Halls Hut.
After 10 years of this controversial nonsense, there is a lengthy queue of genuine Tasmanians who will step up and be proper custodians for this important place. These are people with multi-generational connections to this place, bushwalkers, heritage lovers and people who have never even been to Lake Malbena but care deeply about its prestigious heritage and the fact that this extraordinary place simply exists – people like those in the gallery who for a decade have taken a relentless stand for this magnificent wild place. Fishers & Walkers Tasmania, along with the National Parks Association, the Wilderness Society and the Tasmanian Wilderness Guides Association have all been doing the work that should have been done by our severely under‑resourced parks service protecting and conserving our national parks.
This is our Wilderness World Heritage area encompassing Lake Malbena. It is protected for its outstanding universal values. It is protected for future generations. Let us have custodians who will uphold these prestigious values and care for the place as it deserves to be cared for.
