Malbena appeal decision up in air

IT’S unclear whether the proponents of a stalled luxury helicopter tourism development in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park intend to take their case to the High Court.

In 2018, Halls Island in Lake Malbena was leased to tourism business Wild Drake, which is owned by Daniel and Simone Hackett.

The husband and wife have proposed to build a standing camp on the island, and ferry up to 30 helicopter flights of tourists there a year.

The state’s conservation movement sees the development as being representative of a broader encroachment of private enterprise into the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

It was initially knocked back by the Central Highlands Council, but later given the green light by the Resource Management and Appeal Tribunal.

The Wilderness Society appealed this decision to the Supreme Court.

On Wednesday, the Full Court agreed with the environmental group that errors were made in the granting of a permit to Wild Drake.

Lawyer Claire Bookless, who represented the Wilderness Society, on Thursday said the court’s decision meant the development would again have to be assessed by RMPAT.

“It’s a really good outcome for both our clients and for the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, in as far as it means that this proposal needs to go through some further assessment against the reserve management plan for the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, which is really good news,” Ms Bookless said.

“The next step is there is an appeal right that any party to the Supreme Court can apply for leave to appeal to the High Court. There’s 28 days for any party to do that. If no party appeals, then this will go before the tribunal and the process before the tribunal is determined by the tribunal.”

When contacted by the Mercury on Thursday, Mr Hackett (pictured), did not say whether Wild Drake would appeal the decision to the High Court.

“The operational plans that we have developed ensure that we don’t overfly wilderness, we don’t overfly walking tracks, we don’t land in any national parks, and we can operate without impacting the experience of others,” he said.

“More than 300 days per year will feature no flights, and there will be no guiding operations for more than 240 days per year. None of this is in dispute.”

Mr Hackett described the development as a “minuscule project”.