Naomi Edwards
A report released today by retired actuary Naomi Edwards has identified major financial and economic risks associated with Gunns’ pulp mill, including government bail-outs, poor returns on publicly-owned forests, and reduced returns from agriculture and tourism.
The report finds that the pulp mill will not be cost-competitive against the emerging pulp producers (South America and South East Asia), and that it is likely to require ongoing support from the taxpayer to survive the pulp market, which is one of the world’s most volatile commodities. It also finds that hundreds of millions of dollars of tourism revenues could be lost if the mill causes even a minor reduction in tourism in the Launceston and Georgetown areas.
The report was prepared by retired actuary Naomi Edwards who is also a director of listed funds manager Australian Ethical. Ms Edwards is a former partner with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and was an executive director with Trowbridge Consulting. Her report will be submitted to the RPDC as a submission to the IIS later this week.
Read for yourself, download here: newEdwards_RPDC_Sep_Pulp_Mill.pdf
