It is far too soon to be talking about a proposed guided walk and huts for Tasmania's south-west, Aboriginal organisations say.
Experience Co is pushing ahead with the proposal for a seven-day, six-night guided walk with catering, which would include the building of six walkers' huts from Cox Bight to South Cape Bay on the South Coast Track (SCT) within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA)
It is an area with sites of "immense importance" to Aboriginal Tasmanians, according to an archaeologist who reviewed the proposal.
A draft reserve activity assessment prepared as part of the original proposal, and released under Right to Information (RTI) legislation, said the South Coast Track had "only been open to a relatively elite group" of experienced, self-reliant walkers.
"The proposal aims to allow the SCT to be accessible [to] those many walkers with a desire to experience the magnificent wilderness of the TWWHA but who are less able to carry the heavy pack required by independent walkers," the document said.
Further documents obtained by the ABC under RTI legislation included a letter from archaeologist Samuel Dix about the Aboriginal heritage sites in the area.
"Due to the nature of the proposed works, much of the area where the proponent wants to establish new tracks and erect huts has never been surveyed for Aboriginal heritage.
"Due to the number of sites recorded thus far, the probability of further rock art sites, and the strong cultural ties to the area (including traditional stories and ethnographic accounts of those of those who originally lived in the area), an Aboriginal heritage investigation is therefore required to identify whether the proposed project or related infrastructure will impact on any Aboriginal heritage and to offer mitigation advice."
It is not clear what further work has been done.
An Experience Co spokeswoman said: "We acknowledge the importance of this project and respect the steps that need to be undertaken.
"We look forward to building relationships and working closely with all concerned as we move through this process."
'A lot of hurdles to get over'
The state's Aboriginal Heritage Act is under review, and an updated version is expected to be tabled in Parliament next year.
South East Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation board member and elder Rodney Dillon said any proposals in areas with Aboriginal heritage sites should be put on hold until the new Act came into effect.
"While [the Act] is like it is, I'd be too frightened to give something like that the OK," Mr Dillon said.
He said the current Act did not protect heritage sites and, with the potential of many more unknown locations, "we've got a lot of hurdles to get over before we go to talk even about a track".
The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania also wants to wait for the new legislation.
Mr Dillon said the route of the South Coast Track should also be changed because some parts of it were very close to significant heritage sites.
"The South Coast Track will have to be changed to move away from our sites … It's pretty scary for us to think that these people can go there," he said.
'We're talking about public land'
The Tasmanian Greens do not support the government's program of calling for proposals for development in national parks, and Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said the party had several concerns about the proposal for the South Coast Track.
"We're talking about public land here, we're talking about an area that is of the deepest cultural significance to Aboriginal Tasmanians, and we know that UNESCO has told the Tasmanian government not to allow any more developments inside the World Heritage Area until they've undertaken a comprehensive cultural assessment," Ms O'Connor said.
"That work has not been done but the rent-seekers are lining up."
Ms O'Connor said Tasmania's south-west had some of the "most significant and treasured Aboriginal cultural heritage in the country".
"That requires the greatest level of respect. It requires the Tasmanian government to prioritise the protection of that heritage, and it demands transparency."
Parks Minister Jacquie Petrusma did not comment on whether proposals such as the South Coast Track guided walk should be put on hold until the new Aboriginal Heritage Act is in place, but said such proposals were subject to approvals processes.
"If they don't have the required Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania permits then the development won't happen," Ms Petrusma said.
A government spokeswoman said "significant engagement with Tasmanian Aboriginal people" was required as part of the process.
She said the Parks and Wildlife Service had not received final documentation from Experience Co, and therefore was "not currently assessing any of the proponent's concepts in relation to the South Coast Track".
In its 2021 State of Conservation Properties Inscribed on the World Heritage List report, UNESCO welcomed "the advances of the Detailed Plan for a Comprehensive Cultural Assessment", but that "it is of great importance to conclude this process before any further development (eg tourism development) takes place at the property".
Ms Petrusma said the federal government had sought clarification on what that meant.
"UNESCO's actually saying what they just want [is] to be notified [of] is in regards to major uses and developments," she said.
"Not [that] all development had to stop at all."
The government spokeswoman later added that the Natural Resources and Environment Department started work in 2018 on the plan UNESCO asked for and that it was due to be completed in 2028.
