Geoff Law
“The line represented the 73% of Tasmanians who want Premier David Bartlett to end all government involvement in the proposed pulp mill after 30 November,” said Wilderness Society Tasmanian Campaign Coordinator, Geoff Law, referring to an EMRS opinion poll released last week (17 November).
MEDIA RELEASE 23 November 2008
OVER 2000 CALL ON TASMANIAN PREMIER TO HOLD HIS ‘LINE IN THE SAND’ AGAINST TAMAR VALLEY PULP MILL
Tasmanians become the line in the sand at Kingston Beach today, urging Premier to keep his promise to end government involvement in the mill
Over 2000 people turned out in cold, blustery conditions today at Kingston Beach south of Hobart to form a line in the sand against Gunns’ proposed pulp mill. The line was well over a kilometre long at the high-tide level on the beach.
“The line represented the 73% of Tasmanians who want Premier David Bartlett to end all government involvement in the proposed pulp mill after 30 November,” said Wilderness Society Tasmanian Campaign Coordinator, Geoff Law, referring to an EMRS opinion poll released last week (17 November).
“They want the Tasmanian Premier to honour his word by terminating the pulp mill’s wood-supply deal for public native forests and to cancel licences that allow Gunns to discharge effluents and emissions into the Tasmanian environment,” Mr Law said.
In June, Mr Bartlett pledged to end government involvement in the pulp mill unless Gunns had made real progress on finance and construction by 30 November. With only one week to go until that deadline, the pulp-mill project has actually gone backwards, with major snags to the mill’s pipeline, federal environmental approvals, finance, Gunns’ share price and legal actions.
“With the project actually going backwards, Mr Bartlett should fulfil his promise to Tasmanians and end government involvement in the Tamar valley pulp mill,” said Mr Law. “This means ending the deal to pulp publicly-owned native forests, and terminating all permits for the mill.”
The crowd also heard from Jim Everett, Manager of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, who called on the Government to stop the pulp mill while delivering his welcome to country.
A key concern of the people gathered today is the agreement between Gunns and Forestry Tasmania which provides for 1.5 million tonnes of wood per annum for the pulp mill to come from publicly-owned land in Tasmania. According to the Wilderness Society, most of this will come from native forests, including several eucalypt species as well as rainforest species.
The crowd enthusiastically performed a Mexican Wave while shouting ‘no pulp mill’. The wave took several minutes to go from one end of the 1.5-km-long line and back again.
Premier Bartlett’s quotes in June 2008
“The Government has drawn the line in the sand,” Mr Bartlett said.
“The pulp mill project has divided the Tasmanian community significantly and we believe that the divisions should not last for too much longer.”
From November 30, government permits and involvement in the project would end unless Gunns had achieved “real” finance and “real progress” on construction.
“The Tasmanian people have a right to say ‘enough is enough’,” he said.
(The Australian, 1 July 2008)
“I have drawn a line in the sand that says if the proponent can’t meet the requirements of the permit and gain finance and substantially commence the project by 30th of November this year then enough is enough,” he (Mr Bartlett) said.
“The Tasmanian Government will no longer be involved in this project.”
(ABC News, 2 July 2008)
Images attached: both by Rob Blakers
