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Category: Tourism / Aboriginal

Uluru air balloon given go-ahead

Wednesday, 21 Sep 2016 13:25:14 | Sally Brooks

The SkyShip Uluru is set to be launched in the next six to 12 months. (Supplied: Skyship.com.au)

Authorities have given the green light to a tethered balloon tourism attraction just outside Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park.

The SkyShip Uluru is set to be officially launched in the next six to 12 months.

The tethered balloon will be on land owned by the Indigenous Land Corporation and managed by Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia.

A tethered balloon is a type of hot air balloon that is tied to the ground to prevent it from flying away.

Unconfirmed details about SkyShip Uluru, a project by SkyLeisure, were published on a website which has been taken down overnight.

The website said the balloon would tower 181 metres above the desert landscape and would offer unparalleled views of the national park.

No sacred sites in area

The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA) confirmed it had issued a certificate to allow works on the project site to go ahead.

"The authority consulted custodians of sacred sites in the area of and vicinity of the subject land for the project, and custodians identified no sacred sites within the proposed works area," a spokesman said.

"The project has the clearance required by the authority for the works to proceed including perimeter fencing, vegetation clearing, set down area for a shipping container and base for the tethered balloon, access road and walking paths and parking areas and all associated works."

A Federal Department of Environment and Energy spokeswoman said the SkyShip development was not subject to assessment under national environmental legislation.

"The Department of the Environment and Energy is of the view that the SkyShip Uluru proposal does not require approval under national environmental law," a spokeswoman said.

"This is because it is unlikely to result in a significant impact to a matter of national environmental significance."

The Northern Territory Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics said the project did not require planning approvals "because it's on unzoned land".

Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia and SkyLeisure have declined to comment.

AustraliaPlus


 

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