The threatened Upper Florentine valley, western Tasmania. Photo Kip NunnTasmania has one of the world’s great temperate wilderness areas. It contains jagged mountains, sub-alpine plateaux, a wild coast with pristine beaches, lagoons and rugged headlands, gorges carved by wild rivers, rainforests, and substantial tracts of primeval eucalypt forests. Large tracts are protected within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area or adjacent National Parks, yet Tasmania’s wilderness is also under enormous threat. Logging is penetrating previously remote and natural valleys. In northern and eastern Tasmania, remnant forests form crucial habitat for threatened species such as the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle. A massive proposed pulp mill would double the rate of logging in Tasmania.
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| Tasmania's irreplaceable forests |
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Tasmania is home to the tallest hardwood forests on Earth, with trees reaching nearly 100 metres and living for over 400 years. It is also home to Australia’s greatest tract of temperate rainforest. |
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| Gunns' proposed pulp mill |
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The Wilderness Society is campaigning to stop Gunns Ltd building a massive native forest-fed pulp mill in the Tamar Valley. This pulp mill will be a disaster for our forests; our oceans and beaches; our marine life and fisheries; our wildlife; our water; the air of the Tamar Valley; our climate; and our economy.
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| Self-drive guides |
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Discover Tasmania's forests for yourself, with one of our self-drive guides. Find out about walks in the Blue Tier, South Sister, the Tarkine, the Upper Florentine, the Weld, and the Styx. |
Tasmania Updates
- Pulp mill stench exposed - July 01, 2009
- Your tax dollars could prop up Gunns' pulp mill - June 25, 2009
- Logging subsidies are costing Tasmania - June 10, 2009
On 30 June, the ABC’s 7:30 Report revealed documents which showed that the RPDC, the independent body which was assessing the proposed pulp mill before Gunns pulled out of the process, was seriously concerned odour from the mill would adversely affect the quality of life of people in the Tamar Valley.
Australian Forestry Minister Tony Burke has told Parliament that he wants to see the Gunns pulp mill built. This opens up the risk of your tax dollars being used to prop up this destructive project.
A new report by Dr Graeme Wells of Wells Economic Analysis, about subsidies received by the Tasmanian forest industry, shows that over the past eleven years the industry has received more than $630 million in direct and indirect subsidies. These subsidies cost Tasmania the equivalent of 856 nurses for eleven years, or more than 40% of a brand new Royal Hobart Hospital.
Tasmania Events
- Community carbon-counting days
With your help, we can measure the amount of carbon stored in the forests that Forestry Tasmania is planning on logging. Community carbon-counting days: Sunday 5 July - Upper Florentine Valley, Southern Tasmania; Sunday 2 August - Styx Valley, Southern Tasmania; Sunday 6 September - Blue Tier, North-East Tasmania
Tasmania Media Releases
- Lack of joint-venture partner deal allows for pulp mill rethink - June 29, 2009
- Federal Government risks Tasmanian livelihoods for Gunns profits - June 25, 2009
- Forestry economic report found to contain serious errors, flawed methodology - June 23, 2009
Gunns’ release to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) today continues the uncertainty about its pulp mill project and fails to deliver details of its joint-venture partnership by the end of June, as promised. The lack of finalisation on a joint-venture partnership provides an opportunity for a full rethink of the project.
The Rudd Government’s first parliamentary statement on Australia’s forests today has ignored evidence that the proposed Tasmanian pulp mill will cost jobs and harm Tasmania’s economy and environment, The Wilderness Society said.
The recently released Tasmanian forest industry report into the value of subsidies to the community used flawed methodology, contains serious errors and was misrepresented by the forest industry, according to Dr Graeme Wells. Dr Wells' critique highlights the inconsistent definitions of subsidies in the industry report, which undervalues the total amount of taxpayer-funded support of the Tasmanian forest industry.
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The Wilderness Society Tasmania |
Ph: (03) 6224 1550 |
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Hobart Shop Shop 8 Galleria, 33 Salamanca Place, Hobart, 03 6234 9370 |
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