Monday 29 February 2016

TASMANIA: Bruny Island Tourism Boom Affected By Human Excrement

More infrastructure is needed urgently as a boom in tourism sees rubbish and human excrement build up around Tasmania's Bruny Island, residents say.

Pictures of piles of faeces and toilet paper beside walking tracks and, in some cases, on a resident's property, have been circulated by residents to highlight the situation.

Bruny Island resident Rosemary Sandford said urgent measures needed to be put in place to deal with the problem before the Easter holiday.

"We need large rubbish skips and we also need more toilets," she said.

"Given that they will take time to construct by council, government or tourism operators in the meantime, we've got Easter coming, we need portaloos at all the tourism hubs."

Dr Sandford said the tourism hubs of Adventure Bay, Great Bay, The Neck and the Cape Bruny Lighthouse needed urgent attention.

"The toilets at Adventure Bay cannot keep up with the volume of the tourists," she said.

She said the State Government's tourism push was obviously working, but some vital details had been overlooked.

"I think it's a case of putting the tourism cart before the horse," she said.

Former Kingborough mayor Graham Berry said there was no question facilities needed to be upgraded.

"At peak tourist times there's a deficiency of facilities, and council is responsible for that as well as the State Government," he said.

Dr Berry said his council had proposed a solution to the State Government that would have helped pay for better facilities across Bruny Island.

"The levy or landing fee was first proposed about 10 years ago by the local Bruny community," he said.

"It's a no-brainer. The suggestion was that there be about a $5 additional fee that was built into the ferry fee, and that money would be quarantined and used to improve the facilities for tourists or for locals as well."

He said it was rejected "out of hand" by the tourism advisory council.

The State Government has been contacted for comment.

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