Here is how we put these values into practice

Keep It Wild Australia exists to do more than state a position. We examine proposals, participate in public processes and make the case for conservation, public stewardship and restraint while decisions can still change.

Our work begins with the purpose of the land. Before considering visitor forecasts, economic benefits or the design of a proposed facility, we ask whether the commercial use belongs inside a protected area at all. We then look at the permanent changes it would introduce, the precedent it may create and the alternatives available outside the park.

This perspective is often missing from consultation because the project itself has already become the starting point. The discussion is framed around how it should proceed rather than whether it should proceed. Keep It Wild tries to bring that first question back into view.

Reading beyond the promotional case

Development proposals are usually accompanied by confident claims. They may promise regional jobs, broader access, conservation awareness, increased visitation and a carefully managed environmental footprint.

We look closely at what sits beneath those claims. Are the visitor projections realistic for a seasonal or weather-dependent location? Does the business model require levels of demand that may create further pressure on the park? Who carries the cost if the operator fails, the infrastructure becomes unviable or the site requires rehabilitation? Could the same experience be offered on private land or in a nearby tourism precinct?

No analysis can remove every uncertainty. That is why caution matters. If the optimistic assumptions prove wrong, the evidence arrives after the landscape has already changed.

Our submissions also consider cumulative effects. A building may have a small footprint, but it can establish a precedent, change visitor expectations and make further development easier to justify. The future of a protected landscape cannot always be understood by looking only at the boundaries of one proposal.

Participating while alternatives remain possible

Public consultation is often the only formal opportunity for communities to influence a proposal before government makes a decision. Keep It Wild prepares submissions and responses that examine environmental impacts, commercial structures, public funding, access claims, projected demand, management obligations and the availability of better alternatives.

We do not assume that consultation will always produce the outcome we seek. Nor do we treat every compromise as a success. However, proposals can change when their assumptions are challenged and a credible, publicly managed alternative is put forward.

Our aim is not simply to say no. It is to show why some uses are inappropriate for protected land and how visitor needs can often be met without commercialising the landscape.

Keeping the record public

Government strategies and development proposals contain promises that deserve to be remembered. Minimal impact, regional benefit, public access and conservation outcomes are frequently central to the case for approval, but public attention often moves on once a decision is made.

Keep It Wild publishes its submissions and responses so people can see what was proposed, what concerns were raised and how decision-makers replied. This creates a public record and makes it easier to recognise recurring assumptions across different projects and jurisdictions.

The record is not maintained so we can later claim that every concern was correct. It exists because decisions affecting public landscapes should remain open to scrutiny, and because future debates are better informed when earlier promises and outcomes are not forgotten.

Independent, direct and fair

Debate about protected areas can become polarised. People who question development are sometimes dismissed as anti-tourism or anti-access, while proponents are assumed to care only about profit.

That framing is rarely useful. Many people working in tourism, planning and park management care deeply about nature and believe their proposals will produce good outcomes. Keep It Wild does not need to question their motives in order to challenge the development. Good intentions do not remove permanent consequences.

Our focus is the proposal, the land and the principles involved. We aim to be direct where necessary, but our arguments are strongest when they are informed, fair and capable of standing on the available evidence.

We are also independent of the need to generate tourism revenue, meet visitor-growth targets or protect a commercial investment. That independence allows us to ask questions that may fall outside the objectives of the proponent or agency promoting a project.

More than one campaign

Individual projects will come and go, but the ethic behind our work remains constant. Protected areas should be managed primarily for conservation and the public good. Permanent commercial development should occur outside them. Public infrastructure has a role where it is necessary, modest and guided by the needs of the place.

Each submission, response and public statement applies those principles to a real decision. The details may concern a lodge, a multi-day walk, an adventure attraction or a broader tourism strategy, but the underlying question is the same: are we acting as owners entitled to remake the landscape, or as custodians who understand that our time with it is brief?

Read about our shared values →

The Keep It Wild Assessment Framework

The Keep It Wild Assessment Framework is a public methodology designed to evaluate the appropriateness of tourism, commercial activity and visitor development within Australia’s protected landscapes.

Created by Darren Edwards, the framework is based on the principle that conservation must remain the primary purpose of national parks and protected areas. It argues that commercial lodging and privately operated accommodation products should generally be located outside these boundaries, while recognising the important role of appropriate visitor infrastructure, guiding and nature-based experiences.

The framework moves beyond assessments that focus primarily on direct environmental impacts by examining fourteen interconnected lenses, including cumulative development, public access and equity, Traditional Owner authority, commercial occupation, displacement, precedent and future consequences.

It requires proponents to demonstrate genuine need, appropriate location and a clear stewardship case rather than treating protected landscapes as opportunities for commercial expansion.

By comparing proposed changes against an ethical reference condition, the framework helps communities, operators, land managers and decision-makers determine whether a development protects the character and future possibilities of a place or requires the landscape to support a private product.

Ultimately, the Keep It Wild Assessment Framework is a tool for applying stewardship in practice. It encourages careful decision-making, restraint where appropriate, and a commitment to passing protected places on with their natural, cultural and public values intact.

Designed for use by communities, conservation groups, tourism operators, land managers and anyone seeking to understand whether a proposed development is consistent with the long-term stewardship of protected landscapes.

Publication Details
Version 1.0
First published 2026
Author: Darren Edwards
Published by Keep It Wild Australia
Melbourne, Australia

Suggested Citation
Edwards, D. (2026). The Keep It Wild Assessment Framework (Version 1.0). Keep It Wild Australia.

Version History
Version 1.0 – Initial release (2026)