Tensions in the Tarkine: Four-Wheel-Drive Tracks and Federal Court Judgments

This article will explore the value of the Tarkine as estimated in law, politics and in society. It will analyse the judgments of the four related cases in their political context and use recent Tasmanian political history to illustrate how and why these contentions have arisen. The legal analysis will involve the relevant jurisprudence (in four related cases) and statute, namely the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (the EPBC Act or the Act). This analysis will address how the statutory term "action" (with regard to the proposed 4WD tracks and associated works) is interpreted and applied in these four cases. It will also examine how the court understands and evaluates the "value(s)" of the Tarkine, as a place of National Heritage, and whether it embodies the requisite "indigenous heritage value(s)" to trigger federal intervention or approval of any action.