Heritage listing to halt Tarkine wilderness road?

The Tasmanian Government's proposed road through the Tarkine wilderness has hit another hurdle after the area was heritage listed.

The Federal Commonwealth has used emergency powers to list the rainforest in the far north-west of the State.

The Tasmanian Government wants to build the controversial $23 million tourist road through the Tarkine but its own Federal permit application showed threats to several threatened species, including the Tasmanian devil.

The Tarkine National Coalition nominated the area for national heritage protection and the Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, has now used emergency powers to confirm that listing.

Minister Garrett says the area may have heritage values stemming from rare wilderness, ecosystems, fossils, lichens and magnesite systems. However, he says the emergency listing does not mean that work has to stop on the proposed road through the area.

It means the potential impacts of the road on the area's national heritage values must be formally considered alongside other environmental impacts.

Minister Garrett explains that the listing "provides an additional level of thoroughness in terms of my assessment."

The Australian Heritage Council is assessing the Tarkine for permanent listing over the next 10 months, Minister Garrett adding that "given that process is already underway ... I have therefore accepted the proposal to emergency list the area ensuring that those values have to be formally taken into account in assessing the potential impacts on the road under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act."

The National Tarkine Coalition says it is confident the road will not comply with heritage protection laws.

The Coalition's Scott Jordan says it has been pushing for heritage listing for several years, stating "we think this decision's a great day for the Tarkine.

"It does give a far better level of protection to the Tarkine and it means that any development now in the Tarkine needs to be assessed against a much higher standard."

The Tarkine is Australia's largest tract of cool temperate rainforest.

Image of the Tarkine Wilderness courtesy of Save the Tarkine.