Documents revealed: Archer denies misleading Tasmanians on conservation values of prison site
Corrections minister Elise Archer has denied misleading Tasmanians about the conservation values of a prison development site in the state’s north after documents were revealed through a Right to Information process this week.
The Launceston News
Don't miss out on the headlines from The Launceston News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Elise Archer doubles down on commitment to new northern prison site, revealing the proposed construction timeline
- Residents say Northern Prison development costs will blow out over ‘site complexities’
CORRECTIONS minister Elise Archer has denied misleading Tasmanians about the conservation values of the Government’s new preferred Northern Regional Prison site near Westbury.
Under questioning from Greens MP Rosalie Woodruff, Mr Archer said details in documents released under Right To Information this week had already been disseminated to the media and reports on the conservation values of the site were now outdated.
The state purchased the 70ha bush site from a private land owner in 1999 after it was found to host forest type with a high requirement for reservation and threatened plant species including blue pincushion.
A private owner was paid $75,000 through the Private Forest Reserves Program for the land to become a “strict nature reserve” managed as an International Union for Conservation of Nature category 1 protected area.
In june, the government announced 15ha of the property would be developed into a 275 bed maximum security Prison following community rejection of the previous preferred site at a Wetbury industrial precinct.
Forest practices botanist Fred Duncan assessed the site in 1998.
His report said the area had potential for inclusion into the CAR Reserve System “because of its good condition, size, presence of rare species and because it is contiguous with other areas of similar forest type”.
In 2014 a Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment report noted threatened plant species within 500m of the site included blue pincushion, chocolate lily and handsome hooksedge.
Also within 500m of the site were verified sightings of threatened and endangered species including Tasmanian Devils and masked owls and unverified sightings of green and gold frogs, swift parrots, eastern barred bandicoots and spotted-tailed quolls.
A Wedge Tailed Eagle nest was reported at the boundary of the site on a neighbouring property in 2015.
In Parliament on Wednesday, Dr Woodruff said the development would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and had been “mired in secrecy” and planned without community consultation.
“It is clear you did not do due diligence before this decision,” she said.
“In 2018 DPIPWE informed the federal government this site was part of the National Reserve System, is protected with a binding agreement, was purchased to become a protected area and that gazettal of the reserve was in progress.
“How can you continue to deny to Tasmanians the prison site is a reserve with values that should be protected?”
Ms Archer said Dr Woodruff’s question gave her the opportunity to “put some facts on the table” around the new selected site, announced in June.
“We have been quite open about the fact that the site was originally purchased from a private landholder because it was believed it may have contained a specific forest type which had been significantly reduced by agricultural development and was not well reserved,” she said. “Subsequent investigation revealed that the site did not contain this forest type. Instead it contained a similar, but not threatened, forest type.”
Ms Archer said there had been a “very long history of timber harvesting and more recently illegal firewood collection, stock grazing, rubbish dumping and shooting” on the site.
“The site has not been actively managed by the Crown and is not the responsibility of DPIPWE’s Private Land Conservation Program.
“The site does not contain the values for which it was originally purchased, indeed, for more than a decade consideration has been given to allowing the land to be sold with the intention of even allowing a proportion of the land to be cleared for a residence.”
Cancer survivor calls for state funding to fight deadly disease
Rob Hammond’s life has been devastated by neuroendocrine cancer, and though he considers himself one of the lucky ones, he says more needs to be done to save lives.
Airbnb explosion locks out renters in Tasmanian cities: Tenants’ Union
The surge in short-stay platforms in two Tasmanian cities is driving up rents and forcing people to live further away from their employment, one expert says. Here’s why.