In Their Own Words (General)

TRAC CLAIMS PULP MILL JOBS NOW SMOKE AND MIRRORS.

The Tamar Residents Action Committee says in talking up the economic benefits of the proposed pulp mill at Longreach Development Minister Lara Giddings has actually announced a 40 percent cut in the construction workforce.

In addressing business leaders today about the windfall of opportunity that awaits them, Ms.Giddings said: “Gunns estimates that about 2,350 people will be required on the construction site – workers involved in earthmoving and siteworks, concrete finishing, metal fabrication and welding, riggers, fitters, electricians, plumbers and labourers.”

TRAC coordinator Mr.Les Rochester says the Minister’s own Pulp Mill Task Force in all of its glossy brochures has been claiming there’ll be 4,000 direct jobs on the construction site.

“The Premier himself in talking up the Monash University’s Centre for Policy Studies report on October the 26th last year told the House of Assembly that there would be between 8,000 and 12,000 jobs at the height of construction.

“Just what is going on? Has the public been sold a pup, what has happened to all of those jobs, they just don’t disappear overnight?” Mr.Rochester said.

“We all remember vividly the fanfare that greeted the release of the Monash study and that was for a pulp mill producing only 600,000 tonnes of pulp a year.

“This proposed mill will be producing 25% more pulp than that figure, yet the jobs keep on shrinking, down from 12,000 to 8,000, then to 4,000 and now down to 2,350. How much further are they going to fall? asked Mr.Rochester.

I have to ask the question. “If the jobs have shrunk so much in just 6 months, what about the other heralded benefits, such as the hundreds of millions in economic income for the state, is that now only worth tens of millions?

“In his ministerial of October 26th, the Premier claimed this was a “golden period” for Tasmania, well I’m afraid the gold foil is starting to unwrap from the brass candlestick,” Mr.Rochester claimed. .

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TRAC ATTACKS COUNCILS AND CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OVER PULP MILL STANCE.

The Tamar Residents Action Committee has severely criticised Local Government and business representative groups in Launceston and George Town for their failure to make a submission to the Resource Planning and Development Commission’s Draft Scope Guidelines for a pulp mill at Longreach.

Those groups which failed to make a submission included the Launceston City Council, George Town Council along with the Chambers of Commerce in both Launceston and George Town as well as the Northern Tasmania Development board.

TRAC’s coordinator Mr.Les Rochester said the only council that attempted to do it at the last minute was the West Tamar Council.

“This is the biggest single private sector investment in Tasmania, that will have a significant impact on the health and well being of residents, and their elected representatives sit on their hands.

“It is outrageous.

“They had more than a month to get organised, read the Draft Scope Guidelines, and tighten up areas they found to cause them some concern, such as the provision of infrastructure and the impact of atmospheric emissions on the health of ratepayers,” Mr.Rochester said.

“By not putting in a submission the message they’re sending their communities is the guidelines are adequate, you don’t need to worry about them, trust us. They have effectively taken themselves out of the pulp mill debate.

The RPDC received more than 150 submissions from community groups, tourism operators and individuals to the Draft Scope Guidelines when they closed last week.

“If so many people found the Draft Scope Guidelines wanting in certain areas, why did the councils and the chambers of commerce fail to find anything that they could comment on.

“Is it complacency, lethargy ? or did they realise they had tied their own hands by voting in favour of the pulp mill before the Draft Scope Guidelines were released to the public,” Mr.Rochester asked.

Mr.Rochester said councils are the elected representatives of the people and the Chambers of Commerce and NTD board represent the business interests of their members including tourism operators, and it’s about time they started to represent them.