Former Greens leader Bob Brown to join Kangaroo Island protesters against Australian Walking Company’s proposed development
Former Greens leader Bob Brown has joined the opponents of a controversial tourism development on Kangaroo Island.
SA News
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Australia’s highest profile environmental campaigner will join the fight to stop a tourism development on Kangaroo Island.
Former Greens leader Bob Brown will join a protest on the steps of South Australia’s Parliament House on Thursday, arguing a plan by Australia’s largest eco-tourism walking company to develop accommodation in the Flinders Chase National Park is the “thick edge of the wedge.”
The $4 million proposal by the Australian Walking Company includes two “eco-sensitive” lodges, individual two-person sleeping pods as well as an upgrade of the historic lighthouse keeper’s cottages at Cape du Couedic.
But the plan has received fierce opposition from conservation groups and locals, who say the Environment Department is privatising the national park without proper consultation.
Dr Brown told The Advertiser he has opposed each and every one of the proposals put forward by the company, from the Cradle Mountain Huts Walk, established in 1987 in Tasmania, because they provided exclusive access to paying customers at the expense of “the public commons”.
“It is aimed at the rich, to the exclusion of the public,” he said.
“Cradle Mountain was the thin edge of the wedge, Flinders Chase is the thick edge of the wedge.”
“You cannot build buildings in the wild without degrading wilderness.
“I take my hat off to the Kangaroo Island people.
“They approached me because they feel desperate and powerless.”
Australian Walking Company general manager Heath Garratt welcomed the introduction of Dr Brown into the debate, arguing his own values aligned with the former Tasmanian Senator.
“We have a lot of respect for Bob, and we respect the fact that he loves these places,” Mr Garratt said.
“We just want to get people out there walking in these areas and being immersed in these places.
“Parks are for everybody and we want to ensure as many people as possible enjoy these parks.”
Opposition Environment spokeswoman Susan Close, who last week visited the area earmarked for the development, shares Dr Brown’s view, arguing the proposed location had changed from when Labor supported the project in government.
“I was absolutely persuaded that the accommodation locations are inappropriate and will cause damage to the ecological integrity of Flinders Chase,” Ms Close said.
“They will also affect the sight lines from some of the trail, where now you can see only undisturbed wilderness, you will see large structures on bluffs near cliff edges.”
Mr Garratt disputed the effects, pointing out the project has been approved by the State Commission Assessment Panel and the state’s Native Vegetation Council.
“We engaged three separate ecologists to advice on potential impact, and they have provided guidance on the sites,” he said.
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