Senate inquiry urges Coalition to drop plans to delisting Tasmania*s World Heritage Area (ABC)

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A Senate inquiry has called on the Federal Government to drop a bid to reduce Tasmania's World Heritage Area (WHA).

The Federal Government wants to delist 74,000 hectares, claiming they have been degraded from past logging and should be opened up to forestry.

Last year 172,000 hectares was added to the WHA under Tasmania's forest peace deal.

But the Coalition said the boundary extension had been rushed through and was therefore invalid.

The Labor-Greens dominated Senate Committee examining the Government's delisting bid has handed down a damning report.

Chairwoman, Tasmanian Labor Senator Lin Thorp, said the Government's reasons were "short-sighted, if not blatantly untrue."

The inquiry found only 4 per cent could be described as heavily disturbed.

"[It would] do more damage to the forest industry than the Government could possibly imagine [and] customers would not buy wood that comes from such a bitter legacy," she told Parliament.

Senator Thorp said the Environment Department had described the independent verification process for extending the WHA last year as "extremely detailed and thorough".

The Department relied on the same data that had convinced the World Heritage Committee that the land should be protected.

She described it as "awkward and highly embarrassing" that the World Heritage Committee was now being asked to use the same data and come to the opposite conclusion.

The application threatened Australia's international reputation and Senator Thorp said it was insulting to the committee because it suggested it got it wrong the first time.

The World Heritage Committee will release an analysis on the Government's bid on Saturday, and is due to make a decision next month.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/23536815/senate-inquiry-urges-coalition-to-drop-plans-to-delisting-tasmanias-world-heritage-area/