Ms BADGER (Lyons) – Deputy Speaker, I rise this evening to pay tribute to one of the greatest gentlemen in the Tasmanian and, indeed, in the Australian conservation movement, Stephen Mattingley. Stephen passed away suddenly on 28 June, having just celebrated his 60 birthday with friends on Maria Island, a place he deeply cared for. On behalf of the Greens, we extend our condolences to Stephen’s widow, Sandy, to his family, his many friends and fellow environmentalists who had the privilege of working alongside him.
Originally from South Australia, Stephen’s contribution to conservation stretched across Tasmania and the nation. His environmental work began in the 1980s as a volunteer on campaigns and the 1987 inquiry into Tasmania’s forests.
Professionally, he worked for decades in Canberra, drafting legislation and providing legal expertise to the Attorney-General’s department. His extensive knowledge of environmental law across multiple jurisdictions was extraordinary.
He was also a bushwalker who ventured into some of the most remote, rugged corners of Tasmania and wild places around the world. In 2023, I was fortunate enough to walk for over a week with Stephen and a group of conservation legends on the wild west coast around the Huon pine-laced Spero River, a region of outstanding universal values we are seeking perpetual protection for through an overdue extension to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA). Walking, Stephen was quiet and calm, yet determined, and he was always up very early.
When Stephen and Sandy finally moved permanently to Tasmania, he became a tireless loyal volunteer at an impressive number of environmental non-governmental organisations, including playing an irreplaceable role in the Tasmanian National Parks Association. For Wildcare, he gave an immense time and energy as a dependable board member and field worker in the various Friends of groups, including that for Wellington Park, Mount Field, Melaleuca, Cradle Mountain, Three Hummock Island, and for the orange bellied parrot. Stephen’s reach extended further, with the Tasmanian Land Conservancy, the Tasmanian Conservation Trust, Threatened Plants Tasmania, Sea Spurge Remote Area Teams, City of Hobart Bushcare and Hobart Rivulet Bushcare. His efforts also still extended to the mainland, with Bushcare Australia, the Environmental Defenders Office Western Australia and the WA Forest Alliance, just to name a few organisations.
Stephen’s legal insights on the Lake Malbena saga have been fundamental to help see that the natural and cultural values of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area will be respected and upheld for future generations.
At the Wilderness Society, it was a challenge finding someone to help volunteer with Jill with the enormous task of sorting the archive. Then appeared Stephen, perfect for the role, sensible, precise and caring. Stephen took on all tasks, whatever was necessary, from providing legal advice, writing letters and submissions and the gentle mentoring of those around him, working with precision and deep thought. Karen Alexander, who was instrumental in the Wilderness Society from the Franklin River campaign, shares a story of one volunteer who saw the dirty state of campaigners’ shoes because, of course, they’d been out in the bush. So, this volunteer took it upon himself to clean everybody’s shoes so that they looked more professional as campaigners, and this volunteer was, of course, Stephen.
He was the only person from whom many of us would receive regular emails addressed to ‘my esteemed colleagues’.
A week before his passing, Stephen and I shared a lengthy phone conversation. He recounted his weekend true to form: helping the Friends of Mount Field, camping on the Twelvetrees Range, monitoring the south-west night skies for the Dark Sky Sanctuary campaign, attending a Threatened Forest Day up in the Styx and then driving home through Lyons, where he noticed a sea of my election posters, the impetus for him reaching out in his generous way and offering his support.
As we continue fighting for takayna, for the Spero-Wanderer Wilderness and the Tyndall Range to finally receive World Heritage recognition, for Lake Malbena to finally be returned to all Tasmanians, and for sky country to be protected, we do so on the foundations of work Stephen helped build. We remember Stephen for his courteous intellect and extreme generosity, and we will remember his spirit in the wild places he loved and worked tirelessly to seek justice for.
Vale, Stephen Mattingley.
