Congratulations! ANZ will not be funding the pulp mill

Together we helped convince the ANZ not to fund the pulp mill. The bank pulled out of being a funding partner in May 2008.

Despite being the banker for pulp-mill proponent Gunns for 22 years, the ANZ Bank has decided not to finance the mill. This is an excellent decision and we congratulate the ANZ for taking a lead on environmental and social responsibility. We believe that the bank’s decision, which conforms to its recently released forest policy and international agreements on sustainability it has signed up to, was helped by the public spotlight which was placed firmly on the bank by people like you.

If you have helped in the campaign to convince the ANZ not to fund the pulp mill we say Thank You. We know that many thousands of people were motivated to protect Tasmania’s future and signed the pledge, contacted the ANZ customer service hotlines, visited their branch manager or attended protests.

The ANZ’s decision also means that a major public rally that was being planned for Melbourne on June 15th is no longer necessary. This event has been cancelled in order to redirect attention on other potential financiers.

A second piece of good news

Tasmania has a new leader. Premier Paul Lennon, infamous for his trenchant support of Gunns' pulp mill and the logging industry, resigned on 26 May. The new Premier, David Bartlett, has promised a new era of government honesty and openness. He has undertaken to review the parameters that govern the out-dated practice of logging old-growth forests. He has also ruled out public funding for the pulp mill.

Alternative pulp mill financiers may be lurking

The Wilderness Society has good reason to believe that none of the remaining ‘big four' banks – Westpac, Commonwealth and NAB – will be involved in providing that finance.

Despite this good news, Gunns is still attempting to secure finance for its polluting pulp mill - so now is a critical time to stay active.

There has been intense media speculation that two other finance organisations, Macquaire Bank and Pacific Road, are now playing a major role in assisting Gunns to secure finance. Please contact these two institutions and ask them to clarify their position regarding the pulp mill:

Macquarie Bank

According to the Weekend Australian (17–18 May 2008) financial sources have suggested that the Macquarie Bank has replaced ANZ as the lead financier for the project.

Tel: (02) 8232 3333
Fax: (02) 8232 7780

If you are a shareholder in Macquarie Bank, you can help us be part of Macquarie’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and organise an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) for the company. Please contact Paul Oosting by phone (03) 6224 1550 or email paul.oosting@wilderness.org.au Click here to go to the Macquarie EGM article.

Pacific Road

According to the Weekend Australian (24–25 May 2008) the CEO of Pacific Road, Paul Espie, has taken on the job of managing the finance for the pulp mill.

Pacific Road Corporate Finance
http://www.pacroad.com.au/Content_Common/pg-Paul-Espie.seo
Level 23, Gold Fields House
1 Alfred Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
Tel: (02) 9241 1000
Fax: (02) 9241 2255
paul.espie@pacroad.com.au

Please ask Macquarie Bank and Pacific Road to clarify their position with respect to the financing of the pulp mill.

If you are a shareholder in Macquarie Bank, please contact Paul Oosting, Pulp Mill Campaigner for The Wilderness Society paul.oosting@wilderness.org.au 

The pulp mill has been widely described as a ‘bet-the-company’ venture for Gunns. Gunns’ latest figures [1] show that the pulp mill will now cost the company around $2 billion dollars (originally the project was to cost $1.2 billion).  For a company with a market capitalisation of around $1.4 billion that is already over $1 billion in debt this present a huge risk. Of course the risks from a bad investment extend beyond its impacts on Gunns and the ANZ, and go more broadly to the environment, Tasmania’s economy and the local community.

Market analysts such as CommSec, Citi and JP Morgan also share substantial concerns with the project. In February both Citi and JP Morgan downgraded their rating of Gunns, JP Morgan from overweight to neutral and Citi from hold/high risk to sell/high risk. Chairman of Australian Ethical Investment and retired actuary Naomi Edwards has prepared a financial report on the viability of the pulp mill. Click here to find out why the pulp mill is financially unviable.

Gunns’ could well be uncertain about the true financial viability and sustainability of the pulp mill. In an exclusive interview with the Mercury newspaper in Tasmania on 3rd March this year, John Gay, CEO and Executive Director of Gunns, revealed that “pulp mill viability figures are based on world pulp process of $US800 a tonne, despite analysts predicting long-term pulp process of just $US550/a tonne".[2]

The pulp mill is far from a done deal and it can still be stopped, avoiding decades of environmental damage and the serious threat it poses to Tasmania’s future. Find out how you can help the campaign to stop this pulp mill.

More ways that you can help stop the pulp mill!

How you can help stop the pulp mill!

[1] Gunns Half Yearly Report and Accounts March 2008  http://www.asx.com.au/asx/statistics/showAnnouncementPDF.do?idsID=00817607

[2] The Mercury. March 3, 2008
http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,23311236-5016569,00.html