Road to nowhere

The Tasmanian government's grandiose plans to build a road right across the Tarkine -- Australia's largest remaining wilderness -- have run into rough weather. Situated in north-west Tasmania, the Tarkine is home to aboriginal sites, temperate rain forests, and a host of rare plants and animals. Environmentalists want to ensure that the Tarkine remains as it is. The Australian Conservation Federation, which has been fighting for protection of the Tarkine since the '60s, has organised a number of protests, unfazed by the arrest of many of its members. Locals have also been protesting against constructing the road, hoping to influence the federal government to abandon the project.