In November, the Clarence City Council (CCC) advertised its Planning Scheme amendment for the eastern portion of the Seven Mile Beach Peninsula. The scheme amendment involves inserting a Development Plan Overlay which is effectively a change of zoning of the eastern portion of the Seven Mile Beach Peninsula from recreation to a new special use zoning which allows the Goggin golf course development to be assessed as a permitted use.
Copping hazardous waste disposal facility (C-cell)
Wellington Park Management Plan
VDL clearing proposal set for strict assessment by Australian Government
On the 18 February 2013 the Australian Government decided that the Van Diemen's Land Company (VDL) dairy farm expansion proposal at its Woolnorth property is a controlled action under the EPBC Act and will be assessed by an environment impact statement. In our submission on VDL’s referral to the Australian Government, we recommended that this proposal be rejected outright but, if not, that it should be assessed through the most stringent assessment process. Having this proposal assessed through an EIS is a good outcome and is certainly justified.
Tarkine National Heritage listing
On 7 February 2013 the federal Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPAC), Tony Burke, decided not to include the entire Tarkine (403,000 hectares were nominated) on the National Heritage list. Instead, Minister Burke listed a much smaller but still highly important portion of the Tarkine, the ‘Western Tasmanian Aboriginal Landscape’
State of the Forests Tasmania 2012
The State of the Forests Tasmania 2012 was tabled in the state parliament at the end of November 2012.
Although it hardly registered a blip in the media or in the state parliament, the report is an important component of Tasmania’s environmental reporting and provides a key role in the five yearly reviews of the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement (the next review is due in 2014). It also provides many important facts in regard to forest conservation and management which should of use to those currently debating the Tasmanian Forest Agreement Bill.
Illegal Clearing on Private Land - St Helens
On 25 September 2012 a St Helens man, was convicted and fined $5500 in the Launceston Magistrates Court for clearing important native forest without a permit on his property near St Helens. While the fine issued to the landowner was lenient (it could have been over $100,000), this court decision should send a message to other landowners and contractors who are thinking of clearing without a permit.
Listing of giant kelp forests as endangered
In August 2012 the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Tony Burke, decided to list the ecological community ‘Giant kelp marine forests of south east Australia’, as endangered under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The listing recognises the severe decline, up to 98% in the case of one population, in the area of sea floor covered by giant kelp forests off Tasmania, which has been a cause of concern among scientists and conservationists for more than a decade.1 The original nomination in 2009, by Humane Society International, specified giant kelp forests in Tasmanian waters, but the listing also covers the occurrence of the community off Victoria and South Australia.
Legislative Council Forestry Inquiry
On 17 January 2013 Alistair Graham and Peter McGlone gave a presentation on behalf of the TCT to the Legislative Council Select Committee Inquiry (Select Committee) into the Tasmanian Forests Agreement Bill (TFA Bill). The Councillors seemed very keen to hear the TCT’s views. Questions focused mainly on our key concern i.e. the TFA Bill, if unchanged, will lead to the weakening of the Forest Practices Code or prevent it being strengthened and the negative impacts this would have on biodiversity.
Danger at Cape Huay
The Tasmanian Conservation Trust today called on the state government to immediately close the recently upgraded Cape Hauy Walking Track in Tasman National Park because it is being operated contrary to the Parks and Wildlife Service’s risk assessment and walker’s lives are being placed at increased risk.
Use of 1080 poison spikes
While the use of 1080 poison for control of native browsing animals reached a historic low in the financial year ending 30 June 2012 (just 0.42kg statewide), it has spiked since then, rising to 0.588kg for the period 1 July to 30 November 2012. Minister Brian Wightman is committed to ‘reducing the level of 1080 use in line with’ the Tasmania Together target of zero 1080 use by 2015. The TCT will continue to push for 1080 use to be reduced in order to reach this goal. Note: although the Tasmania Together board has been abandoned for cost-cutting reasons, the Premier has committed to retaining the TT targets.