West Coast Off-Road Vehicle Strategy
The Aboriginal Heritage Council (AHC) has serious concerns regarding the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service's West Coast Off-Road Vehicle Strategy (WCORVS) released in May 2025. The AHC is not only disappointed, but highly critical of the strategy for prioritising off-road driving, over the protection of Tasmania’s irreplaceable Aboriginal cultural heritage. Such heritage, cultural and natural values are known as Outstanding Universal Values, not found in any other Place on Earth. Despite expert reports confirming that the proposed measures to protect fragile Aboriginal sites are ineffective, the strategy continues to allow vehicle access that threatens these globally and culturally significant landscapes.
The WCORVS also fails to appropriately acknowledge the nationally listed Western Tasmanian Aboriginal Cultural Landscape (WTACL) and the strategy lacks meaningful consultation with Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
Furthermore, the AHC condemns the disproportionate funding that favours off-road driving infrastructure over Aboriginal heritage and landscape protection and calls for genuine investment in safeguarding our cultural values. The Council is open to collaborating on more appropriate and sustainable alternatives for off-road driving that do not harm Aboriginal heritage or cultural landscapes, and therefore the Council urges the government to prioritise preservation over destruction.