Editorial: Let’s learn from mistake

EDITORIAL: Sometimes we all make mistakes. And it appears the Department of State Growth might be guilty of one with the new carpark at the Bruny Island Neck.

The steps to the top of the lookout at The Neck on Bruny Island is going to be replaced

SOMETIMES we all make mistakes. And it appears the Department of State Growth might be guilty of one with the new 24-space bitumen carpark it has built underneath the lookout at the Bruny Island Neck.

It was obvious something needed to be done to fix the road and the carpark at the renowned tourist site that had proved too popular for its own good.

And there is no doubt those who designed and built the new infrastructure had the area’s best interests at heart — installing fencing and tunnels under the new road to protect the penguins from tourists’ cars.

But the first pictures released yesterday of the works due to be opened today are more than a bit concerning.

MORE: Iconic view gone as car park opens

Looking west from the lookout used to be one of the state’s most iconic views – up there with Cradle Mountain and Wineglass Bay. Sure, there was a road and a small carpark. But they were unsealed and so well camouflaged by the landscape.

From today, as shown on page 1, tourists who want to capture the iconic image for themselves will have a large carpark to distract from the view.

It is a timely lesson for the state.

As our tourism industry booms, putting pressure on existing infrastructure and creating demand for new facilities, it is vital that our planning authorities get the balance right.

The last thing Tasmania needs is damage being done to the unique heritage and environmental attributes that have attracted people here in the first place simply in a rush to provide the facilities demanded by those tourists.

This is an exciting time to be a Tasmanian, with what we offer in high demand. But let’s hope our response to those demands in the future are smarter ones than what appears to have happened on the Bruny Island Neck.

Just sort it out, please

IT was getting pretty silly already, but the fact two more Tasmanian MPs have been caught in the citizenship crisis this week shows this whole situation has now reached the level of absurdity.

The Government and the Opposition should therefore work together to, first, agree on a process for the citizenship status of every MP to be determined and, second, agree on a single date — as soon as possible in the new year — for as many by-elections as are necessary to be held together.

As the Mercury has previously said, the High Court’s ruling a fortnight ago was the correct one based on the very clear wording of the Constitution.

But considering the chaos the ruling has sparked, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s referral to a committee of the relevant section of the Constitution is also welcome. Whether Australians would ever cop a referendum to dilute what is a Constitutional safeguard on MPs’ allegiances is debatable at best.

What is important is resolving this matter as soon as possible. It is incumbent on the nation’s leader, Mr Turnbull, and the alternative, Bill Shorten, to work together to sort it out.