Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, called out the Tasmanian Government’s appalling disregard for the environment during a speech in the Federal Parliament. Please see above video for full speech.
“Tasmanians are rightly proud of our natural environment. So imagine the community’s alarm, sometimes even anger, at the increasing likelihood of losing so much of what we love,” Mr Wilkie said. “Indeed currently more than 650 plant and animal species are listed as threatened in Tasmania, including six critically endangered vertebrates.
“For example the population of the Maugean Skate, an ancient fish found only in the waters of Macquarie Harbour, has almost halved between 2014 and 2021 while the State Government was cheering on the seemingly unrestrained salmon farming in the Harbour. And the swift parrot remains critically endangered, despite only seven per cent of public forests currently available for logging needing to be protected in order to give the Swift Parrot a fighting chance.
“Moreover our natural heritage is under threat from sweet deals between developers and governments. For instance the luxury heli-tourism project proposed for Lake Malbena would pay just $4,000 per year to lease public land and exploit a wilderness heritage area for the benefit of wealthy tourists. This is markedly less than what a lot of families in Hobart are paying in rent every couple of months right now.”