Tasmanians Against the Pulp Mill MR
Fund our hospitals instead of subsidising logging
Pulp mill apologists have represented the mill as an economic boon to the state but they have concealed the huge public subsidies currently being paid, and still to be paid, to help the project be ‘profitable’.
Our governments are paying hundreds of millions of dollars a year to prop up our unsustainable pulpwood industry, money that is sorely needed by our essential services, particularly health and education.
If the subsidies being paid to support the pulp mill and the logging industry were used instead to properly fund our hospitals and schools, then we would have worthwhile health and education services populated by properly paid staff and equipped with modern technologies.
Not only does the pulp mill threaten the health of many people in the Tamar valley, but the subsidies that it requires will continue to impoverish our hospitals and schools for decades.
The community wants to know…
“If the mill is such an economic boon, why does it need any taxpayer subsidies at all?”
…and
“If the forest industry cannot make money in the free market, why should we subsidise them at the expense of our essential services? ”
We say…
“Enough is enough. Governments must make sure that our essential services are properly funded before even considering any form of corporate welfare.”
The community is calling for an immediate cessation of all logging subsidies in Tasmania so that our essential services of hospitals and education can be properly restored to full health themselves.
