Pulp Mill proposal lurches off the rails as thousands form a 'Line in the sand'

Garrett now the focus of concerns about beleagured pulp mill

As Gunns' proposed pulp mill slips further off the rails, attention is shifting from the Tasmanian Government to Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett who has yet to approve central parts of Gunns' environmental plan for the controversial mill.

	2000 people turned out in cold, blustery conditions on a southern Tasmanian beach to urge Tasmanian Premier Bartlett to keep a promise he made in June. (Can't see this video? Click here)

This follows a new push by the Wilderness Society in Tasmania against the mill, one which has yielded immediate results.
 
On 23 November, over 2000 people turned out in cold, blustery conditions on a southern Tasmanian beach to urge Tasmanian Premier Bartlett to keep a promise he made in June. That was when he said that he had drawn a 'line in the sand', and that, unless Gunns had achieved 'real progress' and 'real finance' by 30 November, then there would be no  more extensions for the proposed pulp mill, and that government involvement in the project would end. With the project - if anything - going backwards, Mr Bartlett's line has been crossed and his promise to end government involvement must apply.

The 2000 people literally formed a line in the sand and called on Mr Bartlett to end a controversial wood-supply deal for the mill and to cancel permits allowing Gunns to discharge pollutants into the air and sea. Earlier in the week, the Wilderness Society released an opinion poll showing that 73% of Tasmanians wanted the Premier to hold to his line in the sand.
 
The response from the Tasmanian Government has been to distance itself further from the pulp mill, and to rule out further support for Gunns. The Wilderness Society has congratulated Premier Bartlett for ending a compensation deal over the wood supply and for ruling out compulsorily acquiring land for Gunns' water-and-effluent pipeline for the mill.

Mr Bartlett must now cancel the environmental permits and instruct Forestry Tasmania to end the wood-supply deal, which condemns thousands of hectares of Tasmanian native forest.

Other obstacles faced by the mill include:
- A challenge in the Tasmanian Supreme Court by Environment Tasmania and three landowners;
- An outstanding verdict by the Federal Court in the case brought by plucky Lawyers for Forests;
- A refusal by the West Tamar Council approve access to council land by Gunns for construction of its water pipeline;
- A refusal by several Tamar Valley landowners to allow Gunns to build its pipelines across their land;
- And, of course, Gunns' inability to raise the $2.2 billion required to build the pulp mill.
 

And so, attention now moves to the federal Environment Minister.

Mr Garrett must decide whether the proposed pulp mill will satisfy the 48 conditions drawn up by his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, in October 2007. So far, he has approved only four of 16 environmental 'modules'. Uppermost in his remaining considerations is whether the mill's toxic effluent will disperse satisfactorily in Bass Strait. The effluent will contain dioxins and furans - some of the most toxic substances known to science. These are 'persistent organic pollutants' which attach to fatty tissues and become concentrated up the food chain. The particular part of Bass Strait is known by oceanographers to be relatively stagnant, taking up to six months for adequate 'flushing' to occur. Release under Freedom of Information laws of a government report believed to be critical of the pulp mill's proposed discharge has been blocked by Gunns.
 
Gunns has struggled to provide sufficient information to the Government in a timely fashion but has been helped out in two ways by Mr Garrett.

In September, he granted the company a three-month extension to 5 January 2009 for approval of all the environmental plans. And in November, he foreshadowed that some of the critical studies can be carried out AFTER approval rather than before.
 
In other words, Australia's Environment Minister has adopted an 'approve now, ask questions later' response to his job.
 
Clearly, Mr Garrett must take a more rigorous and critical approach to Gunns' proposals.
 

Take Action

Contact Mr Garrett and urge him to do the following:

- grant Gunns no further extensions;
- carry out the necessary scientific studies before approval rather than afterwards;
- refuse Gunns the environmental approval for this unpopular, destructive and discredited pulp mill whose assessment has been such a farce.

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Tel: (02) 6277 7640
peter.garrett.mp@aph.gov.au