For the record
What the academics said to MPs … before the vote …
Dear Member:
Shortly the Tasmanian Parliament will vote on a motion relating to the proposal for a Pulp Mill in the Tamar Valley. As members of the University of Tasmania who have expertise in the diverse areas of planning, ethics, governance, business, and law relevant to the proposal, we have been profoundly disturbed by the manner in which this proposal has been dealt with by the Tasmanian Government.
Given the issues of ethics and governance to which this proposal has given rise, and the evident concern and division it has generated within the wider Tasmanian community, we believe that this matter has now become a matter of conscience for all Tasmanians, including members of the Tasmanian Parliament.
Regardless of whether the ALP and Liberal Party formally permit a conscience vote in Parliament, the Pulp Mill Permit motion can no longer be seen as a simple matter concerning the approval of a specific commercial proposal. It is rather a vote concerning the Tasmanian Parliament’s commitment to the ethical integrity of government, and so to the transparency, accountability, and propriety of governmental process and decision-making.
The Pulp Mill Permit motion is not, we believe, simply a vote about economic development, but about choosing between the interests and concerns of the Tasmanian community as a whole, and the desires of an industry proponent and those associated with them.
The real commitment of the Tasmanian Parliament, and the individuals who make up that body, to ethical, accountable, transparent, deliberative, effective, fair and ultimately legitimate governance will be measured by the stance it takes on this issue.
Signatories
Wendy Aitkin, Associate Lecturer, Riawunna, Faculty of Arts
Kim Atkins, Lecturer, School of Philosophy
Tom Baxter, Lecturer in Commercial Law, Faculty of Law
David Coady, Lecturer, School of Philosophy
Kate Crowley, Senior Lecturer, School of Government
Julie Davidson, Research Fellow, Regional NRM Governance Project, School of Geography & Environmental Studies
Aiden Davison, Lecturer, School of Geography & Environmental Studies
Fred Gale, Senior Lecturer, School of Government, Faculty of Arts
Kathy Gibson, Faculty of Business
Martin Grimmer, Head of School, School of Management, Faculty of Business
Lorne K. Kriwoken, Senior Lecturer, School of Geography & Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science
Michael Lockwood, Senior Lecturer, School of Geography & Environmental Studies
Jeff Malpas, Professor, School of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts
Tony McCall, Senior Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Academic Development Project, Cradle Coast campus
Linn Miller, Lecturer, Riawunna, Faculty of Arts
Natalie Moltschaniwskyj, Associate Professor, School of Aquaculture, Faculty of Science
Gary O’Donovan, Dean, Faculty of Business
Emma Pharo, Lecturer, School of Geography & Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science
Rick Snell, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law
Michael Stokes, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law
Marcelo Stamm, Head of School, School of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts
Peter Wilde, Honorary Research Associate, School of Geography & Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science
Trevor Wilmshurst, Associate Professor, School of Accounting and Corporate Governance, Faculty of Business
Graham Wood, Lecturer, School of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts
