We are fortunate to live in an area surrounded by National Parks, The Watagans, Wallarah and Barrington Tops to name a few. They’re beautiful because they have been protected but they are now under threat.
The National Parks Association Hunter Branch President, Ian Donovan has issued an alert about The Minister for the Environment, Frank Sartor’s draft Bill called the National Parks and Wildlife Amendment (Sustainable Tourism) Bill 2010.
Legal opinion by Tim Robertson SC, provided to Colong Foundation for Wilderness, provides some insight into the implications for our National Parks.
The National Parks Association Hunter Branch President, Ian Donovan has issued an alert about The Minister for the Environment, Frank Sartor’s draft Bill called the National Parks and Wildlife Amendment (Sustainable Tourism) Bill 2010.
Legal opinion by Tim Robertson SC, provided to Colong Foundation for Wilderness, provides some insight into the implications for our National Parks.
“The Bill removes the legal protection of National Parks from uses which damage their ecology and landscapes, by destroying the principle that National Parks can only be used for a purpose which promotes the use of the land as a public park. It provides legal authority for the privatisation of National Parks by enabling exclusive possession rights to be given for commercial purposes to private interests under the broad rubric of sustainable tourism. Under this rubric, National Parks will be able to be used for general tourist purposes, such as tourist resorts, convention centres, shopping centres, fast food outlets, sporting activities and fun parks, at the discretion of the Minister, even where those uses do not promote the conservation of the Parks.”
Additionally the advice states “Sustainable tourism is simply tourism which will not threaten or jeopardise future tourism, whereby tourists can enjoy the same or similar experiences in the future as are enjoyed in the present. It bears no relationship to ecological sustainability, even if that was a sufficient control upon uses antipathetic to the conservation of biodiversity and landscapes which are the principal values of National Parks.”
There is hope though because Minister Sartor has said he would throw his Tourism Bill in the bin, if groups are united in their opposition. What sort of National Parks do you want for the future? We can get the world we want if we let the people who make the decisions know what we want.
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