My submission to the RPDC (2)

Donald Nicholas

I am not a member of any political party or activist group. Anything that follows is from imformation I have sought from a variety of sources.

INTRODUCTION
As I reside approximately 1.5 kilometres from the proposed gunns pulp mill site I feel I have a very real concern for both myself and my family if this proposed mill is allowed to be built at long reach in the tamar valley.

I must stress that gunns IIS containing 18 chapters is impossible to absorb, due to its size, in the time frame given prior to the closing date for submissions.

I am not a member of any political party or activist group. Anything that follows is from imformation I have sought from a variety of sources.

FORESTS
I have seen appalling photos of recent clear felling operations in Tasmania which are consistant with scenes I have witnessed while travelling the state. Quite frankly I don’t think a cyclone could have done a better job of devestating native forest depicted in these images. Fauna unable to flee the scene would surely have been destroyed, as would the flora have been that once carpeted these now destroyed forests.

By contrast fauna in areas selectively logged can escape within its own environment, and ecosystems regenerate quickly.
My father in law provided for his family his entire working life in the selective logging industry and in the same area.

Native forest logs (in excess of 2000 square kilometres moslly from the Northwest of Tasmania will have been consumed for pulp if this proposed Kraft Mill is allowed.

The 2004 proposal for a pulp mill led us all to believe the mill would only be plantation fed. Two years later Gunns says 80% of the four million tonnes of timber needed each year will initially come from native forests.

In addition to this gunns is seaking access to old growth forests for 30 years after this mill begins producing pulp providing it gets the approval for it to be built.

ECONOMY
This mill appears on the surface to be a viable investment for shareholders, providing it is heavily subsidised using enormous amounts of taxpayers money.

Gunns have said to shareholders that the project provides an ability for the company to obtain an increase in the value of pulpwood through accessing the pulp market in addition to it current woodchip markets.

This contradicts the State Governments claim that the mill will use woodchip that are otherwise exported.
In my opinion Gunns want to get their hands on all of our resources.

The centre for international forestry research, in its report, states that investors and lenders are failing to properly assess the financial risks associated with Gunns proposed pulp mill.

It states a single bhkp mill with an annual apacity of 1.0 million tonnes will typically require 3.5 to 5.0 million cubic metres of round wood per year.

It states large scale pulp mills can also place considerable pressures on native forests when product capacity is installed before plantations are sought on line.

Another factor is the possibility of Tasmanian plantations being uneconomical, Chili plantations grow twice as fast using extremely cheap labour to create and tend them.

Precious farmland is presently being bought and turned into plantations using the federal government tax incentive scheme. How much precious farmland will eventually make up in access of 150000 hectares of plantations for this mill?

Commsec has recently stated the pulp mill is an extremely risky investment, due to among other things to loss of market share.

Competition against a number of large plantation developers is another factor, and if the mill becomes a reality the shift to selling pulp on the global market will increase the volatility of gunns earnings.

Could this pulp mill survive without being heavily subsidised with taxpayers money?

TOXICITY
If this mill is allowed to be built it will discharge 30 billion litres of effluent into Bass Strait a year.

An accumulation of pollutants, particually dioxens and furans in Bass Strait and the Tamar Estuary is a concern.

Gunns IIS indicates that a study of water samples from near the effluent site revealed that some values of copper and zinc exceeded the ANZEEC guideline values for protection of Aquaculture and Seafood consumption.

In view of the above data I believe a toxic dump at the site of the mill, that will leach chemicals into the soil and eventually into the estuary does not add up to being the best practice.

It has now been revealed that a mistake was made when preparing the toxicology report. Dioxins in the mill effluent will be 45 times higher than previously stated. This obviouslly challenges the credibility of Gunns IIS.

The fur seals that use Tenth Island as a breeding ground, according to the DPIWE 2005 “About Seals” report on this totally protected species says they live on Krill, cuttlefish,Squid and other fish,and use the coastline of Tasmania frequently.The IIS only gives predictions and assumptions regarding the welfare of these mammals. In 1989 one of the reasons a pulp mill was rejected was because the waters of Bass Strait near the Tamar outfall are too shallow.

AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution will have a high impact on the population of the Tamar Valley from Georgetown through to Launceston and beyond if this pulp mill is built.

The proposed limits for emmissions from the mill fail to meet the environmental protection standards.

Gunns IIS reveals the mill is expected to emit 100,000 kg of particulate pollution into the Tamar Airshed each year.

LOG TRUCKS
Our roads do not have the capacity to allow log trucks to safely share them with normal traffic, as indicated by the many accidents involving log trucks in recent times. One such accident near New Norfolk in the past weeks resulted in the death of an innocent road user.

As I ponder the close calls I have had with log trucks news has just aired on Win TV of an horrific crash near Wynyard where 3 people died and a little girl was critically injured.

THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE

CONCLUSION
It is my belief the Tamar Valley is the most unappropriate place possible to build a pulp mill.

Especially one that will not use a closed loop system and wont be chlorine free.

I feel strongly for the welfare of all residents of the region should this emmense mill be built at Long Reach.

I would like the opportunity to participate in public hearings on Gunns proposed pulp mill.

Please send me a reply acknowleging my submission.

Donald I Nicholas
Kayena
Tasmania
7270