Environment
Leg Council: Throw it out
Vica Bayley
The crowd was well over twice the size of last week’s protest and the occasion was used to announce another rally, this time in Launceston, on Sunday the 1st April. This will give northern residents an opportunity to show their opposition to this legislation and call on Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull to withdraw Federal Government support for Gunns’ native forests-fed, polluting pulp mill.
As members of Parliament debated new fast-track pulp mill approval legislation, 1500 people rallied outside Parliament House to call on members of the Legislative Council to throw out Premier Lennon’s Gunns-friendly bill.
The crowd was well over twice the size of last week’s protest and the occasion was used to announce another rally, this time in Launceston, on Sunday the 1st April. This will give northern residents an opportunity to show their opposition to this legislation and call on Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull to withdraw Federal Government support for Gunns’ native forests-fed, polluting pulp mill.
Premier Lennon’s mill approval legislation stinks and is a serious erosion of due process and democratic values in Tasmania. The legislation has one purpose: to approve Gunns’ controversial pulp mill with minimum fuss, limited scrutiny and no public involvement. It has been condemned by constitutional law experts. It critically lacks independence and the public clearly has no confidence in it.
The Wilderness Society also briefed most members of the Legislative Council today. The presentation detailed the flaws in the bill and the proposed process and also detailed some of the serious economic issues that have been overlooked in the pulp mill assessment to date.
We maintain hope that the Legislative Council will reject this bill. The Upper House should not be a rubber stamp for deeply flawed legislation, compiled on the run by the Government.
The rally on 1st April will be held at 12 noon in the Albert Hall, Launceston.
Pictures: http://www.matthewnewton.com.au/
And: Paul Raffety:
