The water mill

Gemma Tillack

In the lead up to the last state election The Wilderness Society called upon all political parties to protect the upper catchments of domestic and rural water supplies. Sadly, both the Labor and Liberal parties rejected proposals to reform water management. Instead they took a step backwards by supporting Gunns’ thirsty pulpmill. This pulpmill requires 26 billion litres of fresh water each year and locks the forests that blanket our upper water catchments into 20-plus years of ongoing woodchipping.

A recently released report shows that water supplies for more than 20 towns around Tasmania are unfit to drink. This is an indication that successive governments have mismanaged domestic water catchments and failed to fulfil their commitment to provide clean water for all Tasmanians.

The majority of the towns suffering poor water quality in Tasmania are in the state’s north-east. This comes as no surprise. The Lennon government continues to permit broadscale logging and landclearing of the forests in people’s water catchments.

The water catchments whose forests are being destroyed include the North Esk, South Esk, Ringarooma and St Patricks Rivers. The forests being destroyed play a vital role in regulating and purifying water flows.

In the lead up to the last state election The Wilderness Society called upon all political parties to protect the upper catchments of domestic and rural water supplies. Sadly, both the Labor and Liberal parties rejected proposals to reform water management. Instead they took a step backwards by supporting Gunns’ thirsty pulpmill. This pulpmill requires 26 billion litres of fresh water each year and locks the forests that blanket our upper water catchments into 20-plus years of ongoing woodchipping.

At start-up, Gunns’ proposed pulpmill will be 80% reliant on logs from native forests, it will never be 100% plantation based, and 70% of its native forest wood supply will be sourced from the native forests of north-east Tasmania (Gunns Pulpmill IIS Vol 1:6).

Forests are a vital key in securing fresh water for Tasmania’s future. The time has come for the government to place community needs before corporate interests. In the interests of improving fresh water flows, it is time to protect the forests of our upper catchments, not place them on the front line of pulpmill driven destruction.

Gemma Tillack
Community Campaigner
The Wilderness Society (Tasmania Inc)