Rule out native forest supply …

Paul oosting
Gunns is making misleading claims about the wood supply for the pulp mill, said Paul Oosting, pulp mill campaigner for The Wilderness Society.

MEDIA RELEASE 28th April, 2008

GOVERNMENT CALLED ON TO RULE OUT NATIVE-FOREST SUPPLY TO
PULP MILL FOLLOWING GUNNS CLAIMS

The Wilderness Society today called on the Tasmanian Government to remove Tasmanias native forests from the wood supply deal for Gunns proposed pulp mill. The call comes following Gunns reaction to a full-page ad that The Wilderness Society, GetUp and BankTrack will run in the European edition of the Financial Times.

Gunns is making misleading claims about the wood supply for the pulp mill, said Paul Oosting, pulp mill campaigner for The Wilderness Society.

Forestry Tasmania simply doesnt have the ability to meet the promised wood supply for the pulp mill without woodchipping at least one million tonnes of native forest each year, said Mr Oosting.

Gunns has claimed the pulp mill will be 100 per cent plantation-based within five years and will not use old-growth forests[1][1]. Yet Gunns has a wood supply deal with Forestry Tasmania that locks in supply of at least one million tonnes of native forest wood per year for 20 years, and there is no legislated restriction on Gunns pulping oldgrowth wood.(see attached brief)

There is nothing in any government approval for the mill which stops Gunns destroying Tasmanias high-conservation-value or oldgrowth forests. The Bartlett government has the responsibility to act in the best interests of Tasmanians and so it must amend the wood supply deal to prohibit native forest wood going to Gunns, said Mr Oosting.

The state government should hold Gunns to its claims and remove access to native forests from the wood supply deal, said Mr Oosting.

If Premier Bartlett wont do that, Gunns should confess to shareholders, potential investors and the Tasmanian public that the mill would be heavily dependent on woodchipping native forests for its entire life, concluded Mr Oosting.

[1][1] http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2009/04/28/69525_tasmania-news.html