Tasmanian World Heritage Area Listing

1. The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) covers approximately 1,584,000 hectares and represents about 24% of the area of the State of Tasmania. 2. A hectare is 10,000 square metres or 100 metres by 100 m. 3. The TWWHA was first inscribed in 1982 as an area encompassing the vast majority of Tasmania's wilderness of 769,355 ha in size. To justify its inclusion on the World Heritage list the Tasmanian Government and Australian Heritage Commission stated this area contains 83% of Tasmania's wilderness area. 4. In 1989 an extension 261,960 ha was initially proposed to the area, which was extended to an approved addition of 604,645 ha, ie, a 78% increase. 5. In 2010 a further 20,096 ha was added, in 2012 an additional 3,823 ha and in 2013 a further 172,276 ha added as a 'minor' boundary extension. 6. Activists associated with the green political party are now demanding a further 495,000 hectare region in north western Tasmania be added to the TWWHA. 7. This would mean a total area of 2,079,000 ha or 31% of the State. Your Petitioners request that the Legislative Council reject any Bill or any proposal to increase the size of the World Heritage Area and instead conduct an inquiry into the validity of calling the current or proposed area "wilderness", when in 1981 environmental and heritage experts identified only 926,934 ha of the State as wilderness.