A bid to add large parts of the Tarkine region in north-west Tasmania to Australia's National Heritage list has been rejected.
The federal government has decided not to adopt a recommendation from the National Heritage Council to protect 439,000 hectares of the area.
Instead a strip of coastline extending 21,000 hectares will be protected for its Aboriginal heritage.
Federal environment minister Tony Burke said he is confident that existing protections in the area are sufficient.
Premier Lara Giddings believes the decision will lead to the creation of more than 1000 jobs in the region, where the unemployment rate is almost 8%.
The ABC reports several mining projects are planned for the Tarkine, including a tin and magnetite mine at Mount Lindsay being developed by Venture Minerals of Western Australian. Ms Giddings said that project is now a step closer.
