Don't change national parks laws, Qld told

QUEENSLAND conservationists and tourism experts are urging the state government not to change national parks laws.

A proposal to allow ecotourism facilities to be built in parks is being examined by a parliamentary committee which heard from tourism advocates, analysts and conservation groups on Wednesday.

The Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) was the only supporter of the changes, which it says will generate jobs for Queenslanders and give it a platform to promote conservation.

QTIC's Daniel Gschwind claims national parks can't be visited in a meaningful way without accommodation options being available within park boundaries.

"People actually want to be inside a park to witness the action, to witness the experience," he told the committee.

Mr Gschwind said the industry had a symbiotic relationship with national parks and sustainable tourist facilities inside parks were possible.

"We see the natural environment as our key asset that we sell to our visitors," he said.

"We have a fundamental and material interest in protecting that asset."

But conservationists and analysts roundly condemned the suggested changes.

Dr Aila Keto, from Australian Rainforest Conservation Society, told the committee that parks existed primarily to protect nature, not to entertain tourists.

She said it was important to keep "infrastructure outside and experience inside".

Dr Keto, who runs two ecotourism businesses herself, said about 85 per cent of public submissions opposed the changes and pushing ahead with them showed the government was pandering to private interests.

"The role of a parliamentary committee is to protect the public interest, not private interests," Dr Keto said.

"Changing the laws will sow the seeds of unsustainability."

Griffith University tourism analyst Professor Ralf Buckley can't understand why the laws need changing when tourists can already take part in many ecotourism activities inside parks.

"The issue is, do they need to stay inside parks to do these activities?" he said.

The professor doesn't believe demand is strong enough and warned that the changes could pave the way for large-scale developments.

"This legislation is extremely weakly drafted," Prof Buckley said.

Paul Donatiu, from the National Parks Association of Queensland, said the changes would allow private operators to cordon off sections of parks for the exclusive use of their customers.

"This directly contradicts the state government's goal of making national parks more accessible to the public," he said.

Mr Donatiu said parks took up only five per cent of Queensland's land area and many other areas were available for new resort-style developments.

"I urge you not to destroy the goose that laid Queensland's tourism golden egg," he said.

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