Tasmania is in the news today for both the best and the worst reasons.

Our cricket team is taking the fight for the Pura Cup up to the New South Welshmen and our Premier Paul Lennon is having a fight of his own over damaging allegations of ‘leaning on’ former Supreme Court judge Christopher Wright regarding the approval process for the controversial Tamar Valley pulpmill proposed by Gunns Limited.

The many realistic concerns about potential impacts of a ‘world scale’ mill go way beyond traditional ones expressed by the the Green movement. There are fears for our fishing and agriculture industries and our long term water security.

There are more than just two options available to the Tasmanian people on the question of the forestry industry.

Currently the Premier appears to be considering only that we continue industrial scale clearfell and plantation conversion practices and export either millions of tons of chips or bulk pulp into the notoriously fickle global commodity market for this product.

The decision of the Tasmanian Labor Government to sidestep the independent umpire (the RPDC) in the pulpmill approval process and hand it to the themselves is of grave concern.

The new process is designed to exclude public participation.

Inevitably there are going to be serious questions asked about rigour, transparency and accountability in the new approval process.

The precedent set in this matter is for all Australians to ponder.

Dr Frank Nicklason
West Hobart

And, Richard Farmer, Crikey today:

The problem is now back in the lap of the new Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and dealing with it will be a major test of his political skills as well as those of Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd. Both men will face the very same pressures that were on John Howard and Mark Latham at the last election in trying to develop policies that allow development in Tasmania, without alienating the votes of environmentally concerned people in other parts of Australia. Complicating things for Messrs Howard and Turnbull this time are the statutory requirements imposed by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Whatever the outcome of the public investigations the Act requires, it is hard to see how they can be completed within the time frame of the end of July set by Gunns Limited, the would-be developers of the Tamar pulp mill. If the chairman of the Tasmanian Commission, which has been considering the issues for some time, thought this deadline was impossible to meet, how will a Commonwealth body starting from scratch be able to do so? Mr Turnbull will need to find a plausible answer if his environmental credentials are not to be destroyed before he can ever get around to solving the problems of the Murray-Darling River system.

And, Hag … is beginning to ponder the question: What part is/will Ben Gray play in finance for the Gunns mill. Ben is son of former Liberal Premier Robin Gray, a very proud and vocal Gunns board member. Ben’s probably got access to a bit of cash … he’s Australian boss of the Texas Pacific Group, part of the consortium bidding for Qantas. Here he is having a little chat with Kerry Packer: Packer talks big money. He is regularly quoted in the finance press on the bid to snaffle Qantas: Buyout barbarians admit pillaging could have been better handled