Tasmanian leaders struggle with a basic fact: environment laws should protect the environment

Tasmania has a hard-earned reputation for backing environmentally damaging industries, including hydroelectric dam expansion, logging of old-growth forests and, most recently, salmon farming. Photograph: Krystle Wright/The Guardian

Tasmania has a complicated relationship with its natural beauty. Australia’s smallest state is marketed for its “clean and green” environment and produce, and the government runs tourism campaigns with the tagline “come down for air” that lean heavily on its stunning landscapes, coastlines and wildlife.

But it also has a reputation for backing environmentally damaging industries that grab national, and sometimes international, attention: hydroelectric dam expansion, logging of old-growth forests and, most recently, salmon farming.