Mapoon man Jack Wilkie-Jans has welcomed the Queensland Government's review of Cape York Peninsula's World Heritage Listing.
The review, announced by Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell on 2 January, follows a controversial nomination submitted to UNESCO by the Commonwealth government and former Miles state government in 2024.
Mr Wilkie-Jans has been a consistent critic of the World Heritage Listing (WHL) proposal.
"Since the 1980s, we've been dealing with successive governments, from both sides of politics, pushing this WHL agenda onto us," he said.
"And time and again, we've unanimously stood against it and won.
"I welcome the LNP's decision to review what has been a secretive and rushed consultation and nomination process."
Responding to claims by the Member for Cairns, Michael Healy, that WHL would deliver economic benefits to the region, Mr Wilkie-Jans said the business case had never been adequately made.
"Never have any of the proponents for WHL produced prospective, founded numbers, nor a survey of the region's updated tourism capacity, nor a plan to thoroughly fund road and visitor infrastructure and telecommunications--as well as business capacity building--to reap benefits from any drastic increase in tourism," he said.
"Tourism is already at an all-time high across the Peninsula, and we're finding most visitors are not attracted to National Parks areas specifically, but to the greater experience of the region.
"Road travellers also come fully prepared and self-reliant, which is, in fact, seeing their numbers engaging with assets like roadhouses and restaurants plummet. The case for WHL-cum-tourism doesn't stick."
Mr Wilkie-Jans called on Minister Powell to involve Traditional Owners and other landholders in co-designing the review's Terms of Reference, particularly to examine the consultation process and funding led by the Cape York Land Council.
He emphasised the need for community involvement.
"We deserve to see a full outline of the legislations and policies framework that WHL would overlap, override, and how these would function across the wide breadth of land use and management," Mr Wilkie-Jans said.
"The fact we still don't know this, nor have seen a compelling or comparable economic case for WHL, demonstrates that we have not been consulted.
"We also demand to see the findings of consultations performed to date, along with the Terms of References and fees for these engagements - on behalf of both the State and Commonwealth."
Queensland Environment Minister, Andrew Powell, criticised the former government for allegedly failing to properly engage communities.
"The feedback we received was that the consultation was not enough, not inclusive, and not positive from the communities," he said last week.
Minister Powell also expressed concerns about balancing conservation with economic development.
"We are all for protecting the environment, but World Heritage doesn't always achieve that, and in some cases, it makes it more frustrating for communities," he said.
Mr Wilkie-Jans outlined key concerns, noting the Cape is already protected through existing tenures including Cultural Heritage, National Park/State Forest, Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land conservation and Native Title.
He also highlighted the risks of WHL being applied broadly.
"WHL can be applied as WHL or as adjacent WHL Property or Cultural Landscape (which is essentially the same categorisation) from a single GPS coordinate without border," he said.
He urged Cape York Peninsula communities to participate in the review process, emphasising the importance of their voices in determining the region's future.
