The Mount Wellington Cableway Company is pressing ahead with a tourism development on Hobart's mountain that it says is "needed badly" by the state, despite another set-back over its efforts to address Aboriginal heritage concerns.
The company took the Hobart City Council to the Resource, Planning and Appeals Tribunal (RMPAT) last year, after the council asked for more information on Aboriginal heritage.
Right to Information documents show the company was unable to bring an Aboriginal heritage consultant into the state and proposed to go ahead anyway, alerting authorities if a site of significance was found.
But the Tribunal handed down a decision Monday afternoon, directing the company to provide the information to council as requested.
MWCC chair Chris Oldfield said the company was disappointed but not deterred.
"We've now got some direction from the Tribunal on some extra work we have to do and we'll now get on and do that." he said.
Mr Oldfield said MWCC was concerned that meeting council's request would require a much more intrusive on-site survey.
"With accompanying disturbance of the land, we did not believe it was appropriate to do that prior to approval of our development application."
Vica Bayley from Residents Opposed to the Cable Car said the RPMAT decision was bittersweet.
Nala Mansell from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre agreed.
"I think it shows a complete lack of interest and understanding of Aboriginal heritage and our connection to our heritage."
She said it was important that an onsite survey took place.
She urged the cableway company to work with the Aboriginal community.
"We always offer developers the opportunity to understand the importance of our sacred sites, to ensure they do not continue with any further desecration of the areas."
'We'll learn from this, we'll move on'
Right to Information documents reveal the Department of Environment advised the Mount Wellington Cableway Company it wasn't legally required to follow the guidelines of the Aboriginal Heritage Act.
But Chris Oldfield said the company was not looking to lay blame.
"We take advice from a range of people and at the end of the day it's our decision what advice we choose to take; we're not blaming people here, we simply went to the Tribunal seeking clarity, they've now given us clarity."
He said there is nothing more important to the company than working with the Indigenous community.
But Mr Oldfield revealed it had been difficult to get an Aboriginal heritage consultant to undertake the work in the past.
"For a couple of reasons: one, there's been some reluctance from members of the community and I understand that the mountain means different things to different people."
He said the company was "successful in finding someone to do this work" but then "COVID came along".
He said it was up to the company now to try to re-establish the relationships.
In a statement, Hobart City Council's General Manager Nick Heath said the council was pleased the Tribunal had provided clarity and it now awaited the required information.
