Confusion reigns over pulp mill wood supply

The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc
Media Release
24th July 2008

The Wilderness Society is calling on Gunns to clarify wood supply projections and provide the modeling that supports plantation based pulp mill claims in the light of the recent proliferation of contradictory commentary on the wood supply projections for Gunns’ pulp mill.
 
According to the Draft IIS for Gunns’ pulp mill, at start up the mill will be 80% reliant on the logging of native forests and it will never actually be 100% plantation based.(1)   This is supported by a ‘Fact Sheet’ on Gunns’ website.(2)

“There appears to be a lot of reporting that is erroneously claiming the pulp mill will be less reliant on native forests that the official documents show,” said Vica Bayley, spokesperson for The Wilderness Society. “This has the effect of making the mill appear better than it really is; perhaps boosting its perceived acceptability for wary international investors.”

Despite the heavy reliance on native forests for the life of the mill, recent commentary on the wood supply has ranged from:

• “But what makes the Gunns plant especially attractive to the Europeans is that it does not require the use of native timber.”(3)
• “Gunns says that the mill will rely completely on plantation timber within five years.”(4)
• “Gunns will be using approximately 60% plantation fibre (not 20% based on original submissions that continue to be quoted). Production should move to 100% plantation based within the first eight years, possibly sooner.”(5)

“The Wilderness Society is calling on Gunns to publicly state that those reports are not true, and that the situation is as proposed in the Draft IIS. If the reports are true and the official projections in IIS have changed, then the public deserve to know when government was told and why Forestry Tasmania has re-signed 20 a deal giving years access to Tasmania’s native forests for the pulp mill,” said Mr Bayley.

“With the massive carbon emissions generated by logging native forests, other environmental impacts and the overwhelming public support for more protection of Tasmania’s forests, it is no wonder the public relations around the wood supply is seeing the goal posts shifted.”

“The information on the public record clearly shows this pulp mill is heavily reliant on the logging of native forests and this is backed up by the demand for a sovereign risk compensation deal.”

“Both Forestry Tasmania and Gunns must come clean on the native forests facts and provide the public with detailed information and graphs that support the apparent changes to wood supply projections- until this happens, the current information stands and will continue to be used.”

“Considering Gunns plan to export their entire Hampshire plantation estate (6) (their largest plantation holding) there are serious questions around the State’s ability to meet the ‘plantation based’ claims currently being made in commentary.”

“What is currently on the public record contradicts these clean, green claims and it is time Gunns and Forestry Tasmania told the community what the real situation will be,” concluded Mr Bayley.

The Wilderness Society has written to Gunns to clarify the situation. We are told our letter is with Gunns’ lawyers.

         
1. Gunns Ltd (July 2006) Draft Integrated Impact Statement, Volume , Figure 6.14 pg 238
2. http://www.gunnspulpmill.com.au/factsheets/The_Facts.pdf
3. Business Spectator http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Entrepreneurs-under-threat-GSC4N?OpenDocument
4. Australian Financial review, Monday 16th June 2008
5. Credit Suisse (27th June 2008) Gunns
6. GHD for Gunns  Timber Resource Data – Resource Data by Catchment Area (Appendix B, Transport and Traffic Analysis). 2006