Mill: Ecuyer’s protest. Some social notes …

Paul Bibby SMH

When the meeting began, the independent candidate for Wentworth and anti-pulp mill campaigner Danielle Ecuyer lambasted Perpetual’s board for supporting Gunns. “If we look at Gunns’ balance sheet, they are about to borrow $1.9 billion, which is in excess of their total market capital,” said Ms Ecuyer who attended as a registered shareholder. “Sustainablity is also a huge issue. I have been to a number of Gunns’ forests and they are close to running out of stock. How can you possibily reconcile your investment in this company?” Perpetual’s chairman Robert Savage replied saying his company was satisfied that its investment in Gunns was a good one.

Read more here: Sydney anti-mill protester cut off

Russell Skelton, The Age

THE contentious Tassie pulp mill is dividing the upper echelons of the swank Wentworth electorate in strange ways. On Saturday night Geoff Cousins and his partner, author Darleen Bungey, suddenly found themselves at home after being disinvited from a big Point Piper social bash. The reason: Malcolm Turnbull, future PM, would be there with his wife, Lucy. On this occasion the social set (at least a part of it) wanted to spare Malcolm the embarrassment of having to put up with his bete noire. It was Cousins, remember, who put the pulp mill on the agenda and in the process labelled Turnbull “the Minister Against The Environment”.

Read more here: Party not big enough for Malcolm Turnbull and Geoff Cousins