TAP Revegetates Gunns Land Clearing Site

The community representative organization, TAP Into A Better Tasmania, revegated the public land in the Trevallyn Reserve, Launceston, vandalised by Gunns several weeks ago.

100 native trees and grasses, propagated from seed collected in the Tamar Valley for just this eventuality, were planted in the area Gunns cleared behind the WAY FM radio station. Signs reading EXCLUSION ZONE: GUNNS KEEP OUT as well as QUIET PLEASE: TREES GROWING were erected. The work was carried out by an action team of 30 TAP members who donned the high visibility gear and crash hats
Initially Gunns had intended land clearing in the Reserve in the first week of August. The TAP Department specializing in the Pulp Mill Assessment Act and the pulp mill permits, headed by John Day, discovered that Gunns did not have the permits and approvals to commence land clearing. Whether Gunns were so arrogant that they did not think they needed permits and approvals in place, or whether they were just plain incompetent, is a matter for conjecture.

In due course Gunns received their approvals and cleared a small area. This was meant to convince fantasy investors that the pulp mill was ‘investment ready’ and to convince the State Government (always
and ever willing to be convinced by Gunns of any crazy bullshit))
that ‘substantive’ work, meaning construction of the pulp mill, had begun.

It was a con, because no such substantive start on construction has begun nor does Gunns have the finances to do so in the foreseeable future. The trashing of public land by Gunns is an immoral hoax.

Gunns may pull out our bush restoration work but they should be aware of of the deep anger across Tasmania at the way their monoculture plantations have swamped the landscape and taken up some of our best food producing farm land, depriving existing farms of water and polluting our waterways with toxic chemicals.

My reading of the public mood is that if Gunns pulls out our bush restoration work I fear it just may precipitate a tit-for-tat pull out of Gunns plantations across the state.

The site before today’s rally