Aussies take free access to public parks for granted. But there is fresh concern that those unable to fork out hundreds of dollars for access could be locked out of parts of one of the nation’s most pristine wilderness parks. Plans to spend over $40 million on a luxury development in the Tyndall Range Conservation Area has been described as “elitist and exclusionary” by a critic of the project which could see average Aussies priced out of visiting the tourist destination.
The state’s Liberal government wants to cut a 28km walk into the ancient west coast landscape, and install a number of wooden huts that look out to mountain ridges. Parks and Environment minister Nick Duigan told Yahoo News the project will deliver both “economic and social benefits” for the region. But Greens MP Tabatha Badger doesn’t think the project is in line with community expectations as it will interrupt access to public land.
A 2021 feasibility study found a tent site could cost $200 to $300 for one night, while communal huts were predicted to be $600 for two nights. The pricing of new luxury private pods is yet to be announced. “This area has been freely accessible to walkers for generations.
Now what we're seeing is an extraordinary section of that range...
that only paying walkers will be permitted to go through,” Badger told Yahoo News in an interview. While existing walking tracks won't be affected, access to some more rugged areas will be blocked once the development is compl.
