GREEN MSP MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release, Tuesday 13 September, 2005.
GREENS BACK CAMPAIGN TO END GUNNS FOREST DESTRUCTION IN TASMANIA
The ongoing destruction of Australian forests was highlighted at the Parliament today when protesters were joined by Scottish Greens in a call for corporations which cause damage to the environment to be boycotted.
Mark Ruskell MSP, Green speaker on the environment and Deputy Convenor of the Parliament’s Environment & Rural Development Committee, today supported campaigners seeking to highlight the continuing destruction of natural forest in Tasmania by Australian corporate giant, Gunns Ltd.
Mr Ruskell has tabled a motion in Parliament condemning the unsustainable and socially repressive logging practices of Gunns Ltd and today joined with other Greens and protesters outside Parliament to highlight the issue to fellow MSPs and to call on the Scottish public to support a boycott of Gunns Ltd products, including Tamar Ridge wines.
Mark Ruskell MSP, Green speaker on the environment, said, “Like many people in scotland I grew up with campaigns against the destruction of the rainforest. It is incredible that decades later this destruction of our global treasure is still continuing apace and not just in the developing world but in countries such as Australia.
“In an age of globalisation, corporate interests must pay the price for their destructive practices across the world, which is why I am happy to support the boycott of Tamar Ridge Wines — owned by the company Gunns who are responsible for much of the destruction in Tasmania. It is outrageous and deeply saddening that one of the world’s last great wildernesses is being converted into woodchip. We must apply whatever pressure we can as global consumers to stop the madness.”
*S2M-3249 Mr Mark Ruskell: Protection of Australian Old Growth Forest and Sustainable Timber Certification Standards — That the Parliament condemns the ongoing unsustainable and socially repressive practices of Gunns Ltd in respect of their forest operations in Tasmania; further condemns Gunns’ persistence in pursuing legal action against environmentalists and environmental groups; questions the legitimacy of the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) as a reliable and credible certification of sustainability on the grounds that it permits the conversion of native forests for monoculture plantation, permits the use of 1080 poison (sodium monofluoroacetate) to kill native Australian wildlife, permits the use of high intensity burns of logged areas as standard practice, permits the destruction of old growth and high conservation value forests and permits habitat destruction that directly threatens biodiversity and the survival of listed endangered species; notes calls for a boycott of AFS products and Tamar Ridge Wines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gunns Ltd, and calls on the Australian and Tasmanian Governments to pursue World Heritage listing for recognised World Heritage value forests and to protect old growth and high conservation value areas for current and future generations and to note that the Forest Stewardship Council provides an internationally-recognised standard for timber certification upon which its own AFS could be based.
Motion available at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/motionsAndAmendments/motions.htm
Dave Groves
September 15, 2005 at 20:34
It seems that perhaps the folk in Scotland have heard about our famous Tassie wines.
“There are higher concentrations of organochlorines in red wine than in pulp mill effluent†– John Gay. Saturday, 20 August 2005 The Examiner.
They are concerned, as many are in Tasmania for our health, bless them!
“Pass me another bottle of AOX 2008 vintage will you mate!”
Paul de Burgh-Day
September 18, 2005 at 09:19
The bizarre thing about Gunns ownership of Tamar Ridge – which is bringing their ‘woodlot’ expertise to the wine industry by flogging tax deductible investments in new vineyards – is the timing.
It could not have been done at a worse time!
For many years now – at least two decades, taxpayer subsidised vineyards have attracted huge sums of money and resulted in a staggering increase in the areas planted to vines. All this was inspired by a big surge in wine exports.
But, in traditional fashion, it has gone overboard. It is way out of control. It has been this way for at least the last five years! I was predicting this ten years ago!
One of the truly sick aspects is that money still pours in, even though ‘investors’ are more than likely to do their dough – but then few care – they got the tax deduction. At our expense!
Today, there is a vast oversuplly of grapes. Huge quantities are not even harvested. Many of the schemes have collapsed and the vines have been ripped out again. Forecasts of endless high prices for grapes have of course gone into a nose dive.
The big wine industry players can now pick up the best new vineyards – the ones that can actually produce high quality fruit – for a song – at a fraction of the establishment costs.
Further, it is not as though Australia is the only country where there has been massive planting – it is happening in Chile, Argentina, the USA – just to name three. There is a global glut of wine. Prices are collapsing. We are in the midst of a huge shakeout.
Some have claimed that demand for Tasmania’s cool climate fruit will continue. Don’t count on it! Tasmania is not the place to produce fruit for cheap wine. The volume wine market wants soft, ripe fruity wines from warm climates. The premium wine market is between a rock and a hard place. Demand is falling, production has kept increasing, prices have fallen. All this is classsic ‘law of the markets’ stuff.
Great time to be promoting vineyard planting schemes eh?
Someone should tell Costello and Treasury to shut the door on this lunacy.