Lindsay Tuffin
And, he said, last night, he had a dream. On that same Franklin River, just pushing off in a raft were four people in wetsuits: Kevin Rudd and John Howard in front. At the back …
BUSINESSMAN, author and former prime-ministerial advisor, Geoffrey Cousins told the rally he had found his voice 25 years after rafting the Franklin River; an experience that left him tremulous at thunderous rapids, in awe of soaring eagles, changed forever by the sheer magesty of “the most beautiful place on earth.”
And, he said, last night, he had a dream.
On that same Franklin River, just pushing off in a raft were four people in wetsuits: Kevin Rudd and John Howard in front.
At the back, looking more like a black condom filled with walnuts, Paul Lennon, and beside him a sleek seal of a man: Malcolm Turnbull.
A fifth had wanted to journey down the Franklin: Peter Garrett … “but he couldn’t find his paddle.”
Cousins asked: Has your Premier ever been to the Franklin? Could he even pick up a paddle.
Turnbull – in spite of his responsibility in relation to the pulp mill – had never visited the mill site on the Tamar.
Turnbull, he said, had made statements in his election brochures distributed in Wentworth – for example that the mill would not affect the forests – which were simply not true.
“Malcolm, we elected you to tell us what you can do; not what you can’t do.”
He concluded with this statement:
“Corruption of the best, is the worst.”
Then, he told the crowd: “Think about about voting against something. Vote against this mill. Vote for the Greens if you must, or an independent. I don’t care who you vote for. But vote against this mill …
“Pulp the mill.
We can. We will”
Earlier …
Ethical Investments actuary Naomi Edwards said that hidden away behind the mill planners, the State Government, the frontline opponents, were the people with the hidden power … the investment bankers and institutions — institutions behind the ethical times and out of touch, in big city buildings.
She named the ANZ Bank, Perpetual Investments and AMP Investments as key potential investors and backers of the Tamar Mill.
Behind the scenes, off the record she had spoken with investment bankers and advisers who said they personally did not like the mill proposal, but were acting on behalf of investors who wanted “the fastest, quickest buck.”
Think, she urged the crowd, about who your superannuation and investments are with … questioning association with ANZ, Perpetual Investments, and AMP Investments.
