Mr BAYLEY (Clark) – Deputy Speaker, I rise tonight to talk again about kunanyi, that omnipresent mountain that sits behind our beautiful city here, nipaluna. I pay tribute to a community campaign that is again mobilising to defend kunanyi.
The palawa connection with kunanyi goes back 40,000 years. kunanyi was the centre of human life in southern lutruwita for all of that time. It is omnipresent and it is a spiritual and very special place for the palawa community. I will be talking tonight about a recently announced review from the government that is going to be looking at kunanyi and so-called consulting about its future. I will make the point that any review of the mountain should only occur with deep consultation with the palawa. The Aboriginal people have strongly defended kunanyi for many years, particularly in relation to the cable car, and in the context of the Wellington Park Management Trust and the process it is undertaking to assess the values and develop a new management plan. I know there has been, probably for the first time ever when it comes to park management in this state, a genuine, deep and credible engagement with palawa by the Wellington Park Trust. This should be acknowledged and celebrated.
The role of the mountain for us Hobartians is incredibly important. We look out the window and we see kunanyi in the morning, and work out exactly how we are going to dress for the day. We go there for many different reasons. We go there for seclusion, exercise, a nature fix, adventure, to escape the everyday hustle and bustle of the city. This has health and wellbeing benefits, community connection benefits and therapeutic benefits. It is so special and we are privileged to have it on our doorstep.
The place is precious because of its natural and cultural heritage values. Its natural values include the species, the biodiversity, the altitude, the vegetation that changes with the altitude, and the incredible geo-heritage things like the Organ Pipes that are recognised and listed. It has incredible cultural values. I have spoken about the palawa cultural values, but it has centuries now of European cultural heritage ‑ huts, rivulets, aqueducts, all sorts of other European cultural heritage that add to the value of that place.
Coming to the review that the government has announced, we are deeply concerned and deeply sceptical about this review. Why? Because it undercuts the existing Wellington Park Trust Management Plan Review. It seems cynically timed to come in ahead of the Wellington Parks Trust’s Management Plan Review. It seems to be little more than a vehicle to undermine that review to pave the way for new development, such as a cable car proposal on the mountain. We know the Rockliff government is committed to that proposal. We know that Premier Rockliff made a commitment in 2022 to creating a new pathway to assess that development. It seems that this Abetz review, headed by minister Abetz, is an unashamed attempt to pave that way. It is not independent. It is a state government review. It is headed by State Growth. It has a steering committee of government department heads. It is a deep problem that the community have identified, rightly, as something that they need to deal with.
It is a delicate balancing act for those of us here at the Greens – on one hand to call this out for what it is, a complete stitch‑up to try to undermine the Wellington Park Trust’s plans, but at the same time encourage people to make their submissions and make their voice heard, so that there can be no doubt that people want this place protected. In the face of the legislation we are probably going to debate tomorrow, things like the Development Assessment Panels are specifically designed to approve big developments like what has been proposed for the mountain and the cable car.
This Sunday, several community groups are going to be getting together under the banner of Friends of the Mountain at 4.00 p.m. at the Fern Tree Community Hall to talk about the process, about the mountain and to defend the mountain. These groups include the Tasmanian National Parks Association, Conservation Trust, Wilderness Society, GRANT, BirdLife Tasmania, Fern Tree Community, South Hobart Community Association, No Kunanyi Zipline, No Cable Car for the Mountain, Mountain Journal, Keep Tassie Wild, and the Climbing Club of Tasmania. Get along to the Ferntree Community Hall 4.00 p.m. this Sunday because the community has fought long and hard to protect the mountain. We know that they will continue to stand up to defend this mountain, to highlight its values and to protect it from a cable car.
