Morning and evening

The changing autumn sky in Tasmania … just a stone’s throw from the proposed pulp mill.

The morning was crisp, the thermal inversion hard at work. The day was off to a magical start, yet that night we would take all take up smoking despite the new labelling rules.

Towards the west Tasmania was burning, perhaps the wildlife was cold? By nightfall we were all puffing away, ah autumn, perfect one morn, particulates by night! What extra joy will this pulp mill proposal bring us?

It was with some mirth that Hag breathlessly read on Monday that Greg Barns in his Mercury column had pronounced the forestry issue dead.

Oh, Greg, what wisdom. As Hag filed this for the Editor she recalled her journey across the bridge that morning, looking out towards New Norfolk to see it had vanished under a blue haze. Then seeing an enormous pillar of smoke billowing over the west side of the mountain.

Then, having a conversation about the beautiful autumn weather with the bottleshop bloke as Hag replenished her supplies of Green Fairy Absinthe. He’d just driven down from the North and said the state was covered in a blue haze.

“All to make a handful of rich buggers, even richer”

“Yeah”.

Oh yes Greg, of course the issue is dead. Like everything else the forestry industry touches.

Hag’s fading stimulant-abused memory also lurched, recalling Barns’ own words when pressed about his associations, on this website, 2002:

In a letter to the editor:

Mr Barns replies

In reply to Mr Cocker’s letter:

Philip Cocker breathlessly announces, as though it is a matter of some scandal, that I may have worked with Forestry Tasmania.

Well let me put his mind at rest. Parker and Partners, a company of which I am a Director, has a contract with FT, although I receive no personal remuneration from that particular association, and the work is done from the firm’s Canberra office.

I also do work for the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, a private conservation charity established by Bob Brown.

As Cocker may also know, I was non-executive Chairman of Cooee Media, a position I no longer hold for budgetary reasons. A fellow director was Heather Rose and the company often works for the Green casues.

The point here is that it is laughable to put dissenters on trial for only some of their commercial affiliations if such information is to be used against us correctly.

So now that’s out of the bag perhaps Mr Cocker could inform readers that he is an authorised Officer for the Tasmanian Greens!

Greg Barns
Taroona

It seems that Barns can say anything in his Mercury columns, but disclose nothing …