Time to restore trust in democracy

	The advertisement features pulp-and-paper-mill expert Dr Warwick Raverty - former member of the Resource, Planning and Development Commission’s Assessment Panel (RPDC) and its chief technical adviser. The RPDC was the independent body that was originally assessing the Gunns Tamar Valley pulp-mill development.

The Wilderness Society has joined with other groups and individuals under the banner of Our Common Ground,  in an attempt to solve the conflict over Tasmania’s forests. Our Common Ground has released a series of television advertisements, including one highlighting the abuses of democratic processes which occurred in Tasmania as part of the shambolic pulp mill approval.

The advertisement features pulp-and-paper-mill expert Dr Warwick Raverty - former member of the Resource, Planning and Development Commission’s Assessment Panel (RPDC) and its chief technical adviser. The RPDC was the independent body that was originally assessing the Gunns Tamar Valley pulp-mill development.

Dr Raverty was forced to resign from the Assessment Panel when his position was compromised by Tasmanian Premier, Paul Lennon, failing to prevent the Government’s Pulp Mill Task Force from entering into a clandestine contract with Dr Raverty’s employer, the CSIRO. Paul Lennon had been specifically warned by RPDC Director, Julian Green, about the consequences of not reigning in the promotional activities of the task force 18 months earlier and had still failed to act. In the advertisement, Dr Raverty refers to a situation where both major parties rammed through legislation that prevented ordinary Tasmanians from appealing any decision relating to the pulp mill, “even if the process was corrupt”.