The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania has requested the government consider future forestry land in the Great Western Tier be made into a national park to be managed by the state's Aboriginal population.
The state's Parks Department has sought public feedback over a proposal to reserve Crown Land Future Potential Production Forest Land within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The land council submitted a proposal to the department that the Kooparoona Niara National Park be developed over 16 parcels of land in the Great Western Tiers area.
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They have also submitted the proposal in writing to Premier Peter Gutwein.
Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania manager Rebecca Digby said Mr Gutwein had the chance to leave a lasting legacy that broke new ground for land justice and reconciliation in Tasmania through an Aboriginal owned and managed national park.
"The government has promised UNESCO a national park and Aborigines real steps towards reconciliation," she said.
"Here's a tangible opportunity to honour both commitments.
"Here's a genuine opportunity to take unallocated Crown Land and return it back to Aboriginal ownership.
"When Parliament changes the tenure of this land, there is a moral imperative to right past wrongs and return it to its rightful owners."
The Tasmanian National Parks Association and Wilderness Society Tasmania were among a number of conservation groups that backed the land council's proposal on Wednesday.
The Wilderness Society said the national park proposal was better than the government's plan to place the land under either regional reserve or conservation area tenures.
Wilderness Society state campaign manager Tom Allen said mining and logging would still be allowed on the land under the government's proposal.
"The social, environmental, economic and Aboriginal benefits of a new national park far outweigh the unambitious proposal to turn these reserves into regional reserves and conservation areas," he said.
Tasmanian National Parks Association president Nick Sawyer called on the state government to think big.
"There is no place within the TWWHA for the limited protection provided by Regional Reserves and Conservation Areas," he said.
"There needs to be a review of the tenure of all of the land within the TWWHA that is not already a national park.
"This would provide the best possible protection for the land and the best possible opportunities for presentation."
Deb Hunter, from the Mole Creek Caving Club, said the club had been documenting the conservation values of the Mole Creek area since 1990.
"The existing national park, which is supposed to protect the caves, is presently only a series of disconnected blocks scattered across the landscape," she said.
"This proposal would finally bring real protection for the World Heritage values of this famous karst landscape."
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Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
