Peg Putt MR
“This is a diabolical admission from the Lennon government that they have collaborated with Gunns and Forestry Tasmania to try to hog tie the democratic right of a future government to do what electors want to see done with Tasmania’s forests by imposing now a huge financial penalty on the future taxpayers of Tasmania for any change,” Ms Putt said. “Did the Lennon government ask the people if this was acceptable or tell Parliament this was going to happen? No, of course not.”
( ABC, Mercury: State to pay out if wood deal fallls over )
Monday: Pulp mill factor
WORST MATES DEAL YET ATTEMPTS TO LOCK IN PULP LOGGING
Secret Compo Deal for Gunns, Nothing for the Small Person if the Pulp Mill Harms Their Interests
Peg Putt MP
Greens Opposition Leader
Monday, 5 May 2008
www.tas.greens.org.au
THE Tasmanian Greens in their preliminary response to an announcement made late today, are scathing of the Lennon government’s admission that they have agreed to a sovereign risk agreement with Gunns and Forestry Tasmania that potentially would see $15 million of taxpayers money paid to Gunns if a future government legislates in a way that results in Forestry Tasmania failing to supply wood to the proposed pulp mill under the controversial 20 year wood supply deal.
Greens Opposition Leader Peg Putt MP said that it is undemocratic to attempt to tie the hands of a future government to continue to coddle the corporate mates of the Lennon government, more so with carbon trading to control climate change likely to offer huge financial rewards for not logging Tasmanian forests, and unacceptable that no person or business adversely affected by the pulp mill can get compensation.
The Greens dismissed as deliberate deflection and utter nonsense the garbled claim by Labor that the Greens had any knowledge or involvement in 2 other secret sovereign risk agreements signed by a previous Liberal government, whose existence the Greens only learned about in today’s government media release. (There never has been any Liberal Green government – fact.)
“This is a diabolical admission from the Lennon government that they have collaborated with Gunns and Forestry Tasmania to try to hog tie the democratic right of a future government to do what electors want to see done with Tasmania’s forests by imposing now a huge financial penalty on the future taxpayers of Tasmania for any change,” Ms Putt said.
“Did the Lennon government ask the people if this was acceptable or tell Parliament this was going to happen? No, of course not.”
“No drivel about how great they are for this dreadful admission months after yet another backroom mates deal was sealed is going to get over the fact that ordinary Tasmanians and their businesses have been flat out denied any prospects for compensation if they suffer as a result of the fast tracked, polluting pulp mill.”
“Tasmania is in the box seat to gain a big financial windfall when carbon trading gets underway to counter climate change, as there is a very real prospect that we will make a lot more money from keeping forests growing as carbon stores than logging them for pulp.”
“But Lennon has made this unacceptable deal to try and lock in logging against the changes we need to make to battle climate change and leave the legacy of a decent life for our grandchildren and their grandchildren,” Ms Putt concluded.
And:
$15 MILLION PRICE TAG ON DEMOCRACY UNDER DEAL WITH GUNNS
Businesses Facing Adverse Pulp Impacts get No Compensation Guarantee
Government Breach of Treasurer’s Instructions
Peg Putt MP
Greens Opposition Leader
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today are appalled by the latest Lennon government deal for its corporate mates, which puts a price of $15million on democracy through it’s imposition of a financial penalty on the taxpayers of Tasmania if a future government wants to implement the will of the community to protect further high conservation value forests or allocate forest for carbon sequestration rather than for Gunns’ unpopular pulp mill.
Greens Opposition Leader Peg Putt MP said that the many businesses in tourism, fishing, niche clean agriculture and wine making, for whom potential adverse impacts were not even assessed in the Gunns fast track approval, had been denied any promise of future compensation if anticipated damage to clean, green industries results from the proposed pulp mill in the Tamar valley.
Ms Putt also said that Treasurer Michael Aird had obviously been forced to reveal the four month old agreement, because the failure to do so within ten days of it’s conclusion had put the government in breach of it’s own Treasurer’s Instructions – a situation he was now trying to remedy without revealing his serious non-compliance.
The Greens disputed the claim that such agreements on sovereign risk are routine or that the Greens had ever had any knowledge of two such agreements apparently made over a decade ago, and also slammed the ANZ Bank for insisting on the deal which seeks to undermine the democratic process.
“This shocking deal puts a $15 million price tag on democracy by seeking to impose that penalty on taxpayers if at any time in the next 20 years a Tasmanian government ceases to bend over backwards for Gunns and follows the will of electors to protect more high conservation value forests or keep them growing for the financial and environmental rewards of carbon capture,” Ms Putt said.
“It is totally unacceptable, and of course the community was never asked whether they wanted their money used to effectively stand over future governments, and neither was Parliament given the chance to say yes or no to this.”
“What a slap in the face to all those businesses in the Tamar and around Tasmania concerned that the pulp mill will hurt them if built, because they have been told that it’s not the government’s business to help them out if damage to their clean, green reputation ensues.”
“The same rule does not apply to Gunns, who once again get an unusual special deal that tries to lock in Lennon’s favouritism long after he ceases to be at the helm of government.”
A letter written by Premier Paul Lennon to the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania (TICT) specifically addressing industry concerns over the pulp mill, dated 6 September 2007, states in relation to the following concern expressed to him:
TICT: ‘There must be a method of assisting businesses that suffer loss of trade or capital value as a proven result of the operation of the pulp mill’
Premier: ‘Individuals will need to seek independent legal advice about remedies available to them should they suffer loss of trade or capital value as a result of the operation of the pulp mill.’[1]
“That statement from the Premier represents the cold shoulder to all these hard working families, yet he’s prepared to offer their taxes to Gunns if the community should want to take responsible action to tackle climate change through forest carbon capture or get uppity about trashing the place for pulp.”
“The sudden announcement by Treasurer Michael Aird has been misrepresented as having been made because he felt enough time had elapsed although financial close hasn’t occurred, but the fact of the matter is that he has been in serious breach of his own Treasurer’s Instructions ever since ten days after the deal was done, which is when it was required to have been publicly notified.”
“Obviously the government has scrambled to get themselves out of this mess and hoped no-one would figure it out.”
“Mr Aird now must explain why he hasn’t been forthright about the background of months of failure of openness and accountability by the Lennon government, especially since a big deal was made of changes made in 2006 to secrecy arrangements around high value government contracts.”
“Confidentiality only applies to contract provisions approved as being in the public interest by the Crown Contracts Standing Committee, and clearly this agreement is in the private interests of Gunns Ltd –couldn’t the Lennon government tell the difference?”
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Background Information & Links:
Crown Contracts Confidentiality Policy: Excerpt
Background
As part of the State of the State Address delivered on 26 September 2006, the Premier announced the introduction of a policy to change the presumption in relation to confidentiality clauses in contracts entered into by the Crown. Confidentiality clauses will not be permitted in future contracts unless it is in the public interest. The Premier also announced that:
· any contracts that include clauses exempted from this policy are to be reported on the Tenders website; and
· contracts valued at more than $2 million are to be made publicly available.
The link below takes you to the Treasury site which discloses the “Tripartite Sovereign Risk Agreement”, between the Crown, Forestry Tasmania and Gunns, and also provides links to the Government’s Crown Contracts Confidentiality Policy and the associated Treasurer’s Instruction 1402, which provides the framework which outlines the rules regarding public disclosure and exemptions (which are meant to be determined by whether the exemption is in the public interest or not).
http://www.treasury.tas.gov.au/domino/dtf/dtf.nsf/1e8c23d2b868e148ca256f2500122202/b80fea46092e695fca25742d001f0852?OpenDocument
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[1] Note: This is an excerpt from a nine-page letter by the Premier to the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania (September 2007) – which is available in full upon request.
