Tasmania: Opposition grows re World Heritage Area plans

Consultations have barely begun, but opposition is growing to the Tasmanian Government's plan to allow more tourism developments in the World Heritage Area (WHA).

Aboriginal groups and conservationists have outlined new concerns about the proposal.

The Aboriginal community was hoping for greater ownership as part of the Government's new management plan.

The draft plan proposes dual naming of the area and what the Government is calling a "Cultural Business Unit" to better engage Aboriginal people in its management.

But community leader Michael Mansell said that was not enough.

"We're disappointed because it's an anti-Aboriginal ownership document, it doesn't mention Aboriginal ownership of the areas at all," he said.

"Leaving it in the hands of Department of Primary Industry and simply sitting one Aboriginal bum on a seat and give it dual naming, I mean that's clearly not acceptable to anybody and it not acceptable to Aboriginal people."

The draft plan is not acceptable to environmentalists either.

As with the long-running forestry conflict, conservation groups are banding together to urge people to voice their opposition to the Government.

The Wilderness Society's Vica Bayley said the plan undermined wilderness values.

"Where is the line and where is the balance? It's very, very clear to us from this draft plan that the line has been crossed," he said.

Warning threat to endangered parrot will increase

Eric Woehler from Birdlife Tasmania is worried about the impact on threatened species like the orange bellied parrot.

"With the orange bellied parrot population now down to almost double digits, we have a real concern about the potential management and the increasing threats to those species in the WHA," he said.

"With an increase in human presence in any area, so will the increased risk of fire, changes in protection regime." 

The National Parks Association's Nick Sawyer said the previous draft management plan was released after two stages of public consultation.

"Why hasn't the current government taken that sort of collaborative approach?" he said.

"I suggest that possibly they are not interested in achieving balance, they simply want this to be a blueprint for the tourism industry and nothing more."