Kim Booth MP
Greens Pulp Mill spokesperson
www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today accused Premier David Bartlett of lying to the Tasmanian people when he said in July 2008 that he was drawing a ‘line in the sand’ over further government assistance for Gunns’ controversial Tamar Valley pulp mill proposal, after it was today revealed that the Department of Infrastructure has compulsorily seized private property on the East Tamar for Gunns’ pulp mill pipeline. [1]
Greens Pulp Mill spokesperson Kim Booth MP raised serious concerns about the legality of the government compulsorily acquiring land on behalf of a private company, and called on David Bartlett to reveal why his government has continued to spend public resources and funds on a private project years after the Premier specifically promised that government assistance had ceased.
“It is now obvious that David Bartlett’s ‘line in the sand’ was a blatant lie, and he needs to explain why it is that his government continued to spend taxpayer’s money and resources on behalf of Gunns, and why they seem to be compulsorily acquiring private property on behalf of Gunns,” said Mr Booth.
“The seizure of this land appears to be in breach of the Land Acquisition Act (1993), which only enables the acquisition of private property for a public purpose. Clearly the seizure of private land for Gunns project is outside of the power of the government, but they have gone ahead and done it anyway.”
“All decent Tasmanians would be shocked and dismayed at not only the blatant dishonesty of the Premier but also the fact that Labor have secretly abused their power and seized private property on behalf of a private company. This is the final act of a rotten and corrupt government.”
“This brutal act is ultra vires; how is there any power under any Act to justify or legalise the seizure of this land? Labor must provide their own legal advice to remove the stench of corruption from this property seizure.”
“I have no doubt that the land seizures that have already occurred will be ultimately overturned in the courts.”
“David Bartlett must apologise for lying about the non-existent ‘line in the sand,’ and explain whether his government has broken the law by compulsorily seizing private property on behalf of another private company, and why they have continued to spend taxpayer’s funds and resources on this poisonous and divisive project,” said Mr Booth.
Reference: [1] “Land grab in question: Farmers forced sale may be for pulp pipe,” Nick Clark, The Mercury, Feb 9 2010, p8, http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2010/02/09/126601_todays-news.html
Kim Booth MP Greens Pulp Mill spokesperson
