This is a farce

Tasmanian Times

WHATEVER credibility the Gunns pulp mill proposal process may once have had, must now be in tatters. As is so typical of politics in Tasmania, a public company has called the Government’s bluff and the smoke and mirrors of Government involvement in independent assessment have all but evaporated.
When experts turn whistleblower (Warwick Raverty Comment: This is fatuous nonsense) and expose the behind-closed-doors conversations and communications between the Premier and Gunns you can almost be certain Premier Paul Lennon’s farcical game is almost over.

For a week Premier Lennon leaves the inexperienced Steven Kons (who seems to have a bad case of the I-know-nothing Labor disease) , with the assistance of government spin doctors, to handle the flack.

Lennon doesn’t show his face to the public despite numerous requests from the Opposition parties and the media. And then when John Gay, Gunns CEO, issues his forthright ultimatum via the front page of The Mercury on Wednesday ( Gay threat to axe pulp mill ) ( See also: Boss chided for claims on mill and Lennon in Gunns plea ), Lennon breaks into his holiday and rushes up to Launceston to see Gay.

Lennon apparently assures Gay that one way or the other the pulp mill proposal will all be sorted by Gay’s deadline.

Despite the many, many months of publicly pretending that the RPDC process would be at arm’s length of government, completely independent and objective, the events of just one week show what a deceitful and costly charade this Government has been performing.

And that two of the appointed commissioners could no longer stomach it.

Gunns has virtually been assured it will get its way — perhaps with watered down conditions on all aspects of the pulp mill proposal. And if the newly re-constituted RPDC process is seen to be too analytical, too determined and too slow then another process will have to be made ready … immediately!.

The predictable course for this arrogant, out-of-touch Labor administration which feigns recognition as a duly elected government is to now go for a quick game … framing enabling legislation to push the proposal through to satisfy the Gunns deadline.

After all Paul Lennon has over three years up his sleeve before he must go to an election and all he has to do is bully the Upper House to play his new game as Gunns continues to pull strings from the sideline.

His Cabinet will meekly roll over and accept his strategy.

As will the Libs.

Gay clearly wasn’t happy with the rules of the RPDC game.

Lennon — the Premier, the man with a biggest conflict of interest imaginable — has caved in to a public ultimatum from Gunns which by any other name is blatant intimidation and bullying.

This is not democracy, nor is it due process.

This is not even a fair game.

It is a pathetic farce. Sadly the type of farce that is all too familiar to Tasmania and Tasmanians.

This administration proudly declares on its state logo: Tasmania — Explore the Possibilities.

Wrong.

The logo more appropriately should be: Tasmania — Exploit the Possibilities.