Police Minister Felix Ellis defends posting video of himself four-wheel driving in Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area

A government minister has defended four-wheel driving in a conservation area as a prominent Aboriginal activist calls for him to be sacked. WATCH THE VIDEO

Minister Felix Ellis. Question time in the Tasmanian parliament. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Police Minister Felix Ellis has defended posting a video of himself on social media four-wheel driving in the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area, after a prominent Aboriginal activist called for his sacking.

Last Friday, Mr Ellis shared a video on his Facebook page appearing to show him in the reserve in Tasmania’s North-West, riding as a passenger in an all-terrain vehicle.

“Not your average work Friday, can’t beat the Tassie way of life!” Mr Ellis’s caption read.

The Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area covers more than 100,000 hectares and was reserved in 1982.

Large middens, hut depressions and rock art are found in the reserve and Aboriginal occupation of the area dates back at least 35,000 years. However, it is also a hotspot for fishers, campers, horse riders and four-wheel drive enthusiasts.

Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania chair Michael Mansell said Premier Jeremy Rockliff should sack Mr Ellis – who is also the Skills, Training and Workforce Growth Minister and the Resources Minister – from Cabinet for his “disgraceful encouragement of four-wheel destruction of a nationally listed Aboriginal heritage area”.

“Ellis’s encouragement of a free-for-all destruction of the area as pure entertainment by irresponsible ATV users shows poor taste as a minister of the Crown, and scant regard for thousands of years of Aboriginal heritage,” he said.

The Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area has been the subject of heated debate in recent years, with the Aboriginal community voicing outrage over the Liberal government’s commitment to reopen 4WD tracks closed by the former Labor-Green government.

Michael Mansell, Chairman of the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania. Picture: Peter Mathew

Former Premier Peter Gutwein scrapped the plan in 2021, conceding it would be “extraordinarily difficult” to carry it through.

There are designated 4WD tracks and routes in the area and it is the only place in Tasmania where off-road drivers are required to obtain a Recreational Driver Pass.

Mr Ellis said it was a “privilege to visit official 4WD tracks at Arthur River with members of the Circular Head community”.

“These licensed drivers were in registered vehicles and have relevant permits,” he said.

“Discussions included the need for enforcement of individuals who break the rules in the area and ruin this activity for responsible four-wheel drivers.

“It is possible to protect our Aboriginal cultural sites, while preserving the right to camp, fish and take part in recreational activities. “