Tasmanian Government launches Freycinet Master Plan with no cap on number of visitors to national park

Freycinet’s long-awaited master plan has been criticised for refusing to listen to community demands. TAKE OUR NATIONAL PARKS POLL

FREYCINET’S long-awaited master plan has been criticised for refusing to listen to community demands to cap visitors entering the national park.

Environment, Parks and Heritage Minister Peter Gutwein launched the State Government’s Freycinet Master Plan on Wednesday. It attempts to set out a sustainable future for one of Tasmania’s most popular tourist destinations.

It comes a day after the State Government confirmed it was considering raising entry fees to national parks for the first time in 10 years, in a bid to boost parks funding on the back of booming tourist numbers.

But Coles Bay resident and tourism operator Tabatha Badger said it was disappointing the community’s main suggestion hadn’t been listened to.

Wineglass Bay and The Hazards at Freycinet National Park, Freycinet Peninsula. Picture: Tourism Tasmania/Chris Bray Photography

“We’re looking at dealing with infinite growth when we’ve got finite resources in Coles Bay,” she said.

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“There needs to be some kind of reservation or control system on visitor numbers. There is a point when the place is no longer special because there’s too many people there.”

Freycinet Action Network convener Sophie Underwood said a public meeting of 250 people voted for the master plan to be rejected until a park carrying capacity was established.

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Sophie Underwood (centre) of Freycinet Action Network with (L-R) Jennie Churchill and Anne Held of the East Coast Alliance. Picture: Peter Mathew

She said the notion of overcrowding at Freycinet National Park was already being mentioned on tourism websites.

“The community feels like it’s already at carrying capacity in peak season,” Ms Underwood said. “For me personally I don’t want to go there in summer anymore.

“If we cater for what locals and the community want, that’s usually what tourists come to see — not growth at every cost.”

Mr Gutwein said: “We believe by investing into infrastructure, ensuring we deal with issues like traffic management and parking, but also dispersal through the park we can comfortably manage the projected growth numbers.

Minister for the Environment, Parks and Heritage, Peter Gutwein. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

Freycinet Lodge, Honeymoon Bay. Picture: SUPPLIED

“The way we are looking to manage visitors into the park there in no need for a cap.

“The plan should stand the test of time for the next 20 years to ensure we can provide for both those that live here, but importantly the hundreds of thousands of visitors.”

The master plan accounts for long-term growth in visitors to the peninsula at 3.5 per cent each year. About 300,000 people visit the park annually.

Glamorgan Spring Bay Mayor Debbie Wisby said relocating carparking outside the park would allow for pulses of people to go through the town rather than a continuous stream between 11am-1pm each day.

She said the master plan provided council with a document to use to obtain funding for required infrastructure in the township.

The master plan identifies five key initiatives, including a new visitor gateway location with staged development to address traffic and carparking concerns, a network of transport solutions, including a shuttle service, improved wastewater management, experience nodes to disperse visitors and a new entrance corridor.

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