The Parks and Wildlife Service, together with Tasmanian consultancy Inspiring Place, is working to develop a new Maria Island National Park and Ile Des Phoques Nature Reserve Management Plan (the management plan) and Maria Island National Park Darlington Site Plan (the site plan).
Changes to legislation related to the protection and management of Tasmania's national parks, reserves and Aboriginal cultural heritage; and the 2007 listing of the Darlington Probation Station as one of the Australian Convict Sites on the World Heritage List are amongst the reasons for the revision of these important plans.
Other reasons for the review include the introduction of the Tasmanian Devil onto Maria Island, growth in visitation and increased commercial activity and interest in the area.
The review and update of these plans will take place concurrently and will take up to two years to complete and include extensive consultation.
Project stages
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| Stage 1 - Background research and preparation of discussion papers
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| Stage 2 - Consultation to inform the draft plans
- Release of discussion papers
- Call for input into the development of the draft plans
- Three public meetings - Triabunna, Launceston and Hobart
- Online feedback form
- Consultation with key stakeholders
- Analysis of feedback
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| Stage 3 - Preparation of pre-draft consultation summary reports for the management plan and site plan
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| Stage 4 - Preparation on the Draft Maria Island National Park and Ile des Phoques Nature Reserve Management Plan and Draft Darlington Probation Station Convict World Heritage Site Plan
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| Stage 5 - Release of the Draft Maria Island National Park and Ile des Phoques Nature Reserve Management Plan and Draft Darlington Probation Station Convict World Heritage Site Plan for public comment
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| Stage 6 - Consultation of the draft plans
- Call for representations on the draft plans
- Comment via written submission and online feedback survey
- Three public meetings - Triabunna, Launceston and Hobart
- Analysis of feedback
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| Stage 7a - Preparation of the Director's Report for the Draft Maria Island National Park and Ile des Phoques Nature Reserve Management Plan (the Director's Report)
- Analysis of submissions
- Preparation of proposed amendments to the draft management plan
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| Stage 7b - Preparation of the final Darlington Probation Station Convict World Heritage Site Plan
- Analysis of submissions
- Preparation of the final site plan for approval
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| Stage 8 - Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC) review the Director's Report
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| Stage 9 - Preparation of the final Maria Island National Park and Ile des Phoques Nature Reserve Management Plan
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| Stage 10a - Approval of the final Maria Island National Park and Ile des Phoques Nature Reserve Management Plan
- Minister's approval
- Governor of Tasmania approval
- Australian Government approval
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| | | Stage 10b - Approval of the final Darlington Probation Station Convict World Heritage Site Plan
- Minister's Approval
- Australian Government approval
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Key dates
Release of discussion papers - Late April 2021
Call for input into the development of the draft plans - April-June 2021
- Public meetings - Triabunna, Launceston and Hobart
- Online
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Key stakeholder consultation
Release of draft plans for public comment - Late 2021
- Draft Maria Island National Park and Ile des Phoques Nature Reserve Management Plan
- Draft Darlington Probation Station World Heritage Site Plan
Call for representations - Release of draft plans for public comment - Late 2021
- Public meetings - Triabunna, Launceston and Hobart
- Online feedback
Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC) review - Late 2021
- TPC review of the Director's Report on the Draft Maria Island National Park and Ile des Phoques Nature Reserve Management Plan
Release of the approved site plan - Mid 2022
- Release of the Darlington Probation Station World Heritage Site Plan
Release of the approved management plan - Mid 2022
- Release of the approved Maria Island National Park and Ile des Phoques Nature Reserve Management Plan
Have your say
Any questions about the project can be directed to the Project Manager at mariaislandplan@parks.tas.gov.au
Alternatively questions can be posted to:
Maria Island Plans
Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service
GPO Box 1751
Hobart TAS 7001
Accessibility of documents
The Government recognises that not all individuals or groups are equally placed to access and understand information. We are therefore committed to ensuring Government information is accessible and easily understood by people with diverse communication needs.
Where possible, please consider typing your submission in plain English and providing it in a format such as Microsoft Word or equivalent. The Government cannot however take responsibility for the accessibility of documents provided by third parties.
Important information to note
Your name (or the name of the organisation) will be published unless you request otherwise.
In the absence of a clear indication that a submission is intended to be treated as confidential (or parts of the submission), the Department will treat the submission as public.
If you would like your submission treated as confidential, whether in whole or in part, please indicate this in writing at the time of making your submission clearly identifying the parts of your submission you want to remain confidential and the reasons why. In this case, your submission will not be published to the extent of that request.
Copyright in submissions remains with the author(s), not with the Tasmanian Government.
The Department will not publish, in whole or in part, submissions containing defamatory or offensive material. If your submission includes information that could enable the identification of other individuals then either all or parts of the submission will not be published.
The Right to Information Act 2009 and confidentiality
Information provided to the Government may be provided to an applicant under the provisions of the Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI). If you have indicated that you wish all or part of your submission to be treated as confidential, your statement detailing the reasons may be taken into account in determining whether or not to release the information in the event of an RTI application for assessed disclosure. You may also be contacted to provide any further comment.
Reference documents