The widows of pioneering Tasmanian conservationists Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis have slammed a government department for using "misappropriated" quotes in a wilderness tourism master plan discussion paper.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The government released Parks and Wildlife's Towards a Tourism Master Plan document last week, a precursor to a formalised plan to guide tourism in Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage Area.
But it was the use of two quotes, one from Mr Dombrovskis on page 6 and another from Mr Truchanas on page 11, that drew criticism.
In a statement, Melva Truchanas and Liz Dombrovskis said their late husbands would have been clearly opposed to the government's position on tourism within the TWWHA.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"Using the statements of Olegas and Peter for a purpose such as this fundamentally misunderstands what they were saying and misrepresents their work," the statement reads.
"Olegas and Peter would share our horror at the rush to commercialise wild places, the willingness of government to destroy wilderness and the perversion of process that has put the cart before the horse.
"How can government genuinely consult its constituents on a plan for tourism in the World Heritage Area when it has already changed the rules to allow pet projects to proceed?"
The quote attributed to Mr Truchanas - "A shining beacon in the dull, uniform and largely artificial world" - came at the end of a significantly longer sentence with additional meaning and also appeared to be slightly misquoted.
UNESCO requested the master plan in 2015 and last year raised concerns about wilderness areas being rezoned for tourism development, including for the hut proposal at Lake Malbena.
Some tourism development has resulted in changes to the TWWHA Management Plan.
Ms Truchanas and Ms Dombrovskis said the use of their late husbands' quotes "twists their meaning and misappropriates their message".
The photography of Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis was crucial in raising awareness and affecting change for a range of environmental causes in Tasmania, including attempts to stop the damming of Lake Pedder and the Franklin River.
A spokesperson for Parks and Wildlife said the document would be taken down and the quotes removed.
"PWS acknowledges the environmental work of photographers Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis in the conservation of Tasmania's wilderness," the spokesperson said.
"PWS meant no offence in publishing the late photographers' quotes and will remove these references from the TMP document."