Aussies face being shut out of national treasure in $40m luxury redevelopment plan
The government is spruiking the development's potential to create jobs, but critics argue it will block access enjoyed by generations of Aussies.
Aussies take free access to public parks for granted. But there is fresh concern that those unable to fork out hundreds of dollars for access could be locked out of parts of one of the nation’s most pristine wilderness parks.
Plans to spend over $40 million on a luxury development in the Tyndall Range Conservation Area has been described as “elitist and exclusionary” by a critic of the project which could see average Aussies priced out of visiting the Tasmanian tourist destination.
The state’s Liberal government wants to cut a 28km walk into the ancient west coast landscape, and install a number of wooden huts that look out to mountain ridges. Parks and Environment minister Nick Duigan told Yahoo News the Next Iconic Walk project will deliver both “economic and social benefits” for the region.
But Greens MP Tabatha Badger doesn’t think the project is in line with community expectations as it will interrupt access to public land. A 2021 feasibility study found a tent site could cost $200 to $300 for one night, while communal huts were predicted to be $600 for two nights. The pricing of new luxury private pods is yet to be announced.
“This area has been freely accessible to walkers for generations. Now what we're seeing is an extraordinary section of that range… that only paying walkers will be permitted to go through,” Badger told Yahoo News in an interview.
While existing walking tracks won't be affected, access to some more rugged areas will be blocked once the development is complete.
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Badger also fears areas currently open to the general public, which she describes as “environmentally sensitive”, will become more degraded.
“We're already seeing it happen because increased promotion of the Tyndalls area is tempting more and more people to go there. And we're only going to see that exacerbate moving forward,” she said.
Reason project critic fears costs will continue to spiral
The project was originally set to cost around $20 million, but that figure has since doubled, and with inflation continuing to send building costs soaring, Badger thinks the project budget will continue to blow out.
“We really need to be assessing Park’s priorities. Is it $40 million on another exclusive walk in Tasmania? Or do we need to be looking at actually properly investing in track maintenance and conservation of some of our existing walks that are currently being neglected,” she said.
Her call follows the release of Tasmanian's state of the environment report last month, after a 10-year delay in publication. The damning 66-page document warned the state faces escalating environmental threats, including extinction of native species, warming seas, invasive pests and decreasing native vegetation.
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New parks project will create dozens of jobs
The Tasmanian National Parks Association has also scrutinised the plans, including artist's impressions of the accomodation. It's found evidence of plans to build a large building containing kitchen and dining facilities, a “lounge”, a viewing deck, and high-end “pods” for walkers wanting private sleeping quarters. It argues the Tyndall Range is "an inappropriate location" for the project.
Despite the controversy stirred up by the project, the government has doubled down on its commitment, saying it will create 139 jobs during construction and a further 40 jobs in ongoing operations across tourism, hospitality, support services and transport.
“I outright reject the Greens assertion," Duigan said, before highlighting that access to existing tracks in the area will remain free.
“The Greens consistently oppose any plan to allow sensitive and appropriate development after telling us that Tasmania’s future was in tourism, now all we hear is opposition,” he added.
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