These next few days could be the most important yet

GetUp members have been fighting the Gunns pulp mill in Tassie for three years – but these next few days could be the most important yet.

Last week Tasmanians awoke to a surprise: unexpectedly, Tasmania’s Governor asked Premier David Bartlett to form a new Labor Government, when just a few days ago it looked certain that the Liberals would govern. The situation is precarious for the new Government, and for Tasmania’s native forests: the green lungs of Australia.

Over the next few days Labor’s 10 MPs will sit down to decide what their new Government will look like, and whether they’ll stand for a new deal for Tasmania’s forests — or for more of the same polluted politics that led to the approval of Gunns’ pulp mill.

Tasmanian GetUp members are already emailing and calling their MPs — but many are worried: this Government has ignored their voices before. Our campaign against the pulp mill has already proven that when GetUp members across Australia get involved we have an immense impact.

Right now, a huge petition from mainland GetUp members will let the new Labor Government know we’re watching — that it’s time for a fresh start on forestry and a fresh start on Gunns. Please add your voice:

www.getup.org.au/campaign/newdeal4forests

Next week, GetUp members in Tasmania will deliver the petition to Premier Bartlett and his new Labor MPs. Let’s make sure they have a pile of signatures so tall they need a trolley to carry them in.

The petition says:

“Premier Bartlett,

With your new Government in Tasmania must come a new politics — a politics based on negotiation, not single-party rule; a Parliament that protects Tasmania’s native forests, which are so important to all Australians. Please start by making good on your promise to welcome an integrity commission review into the Gunns pulp mill process.”

Can you support Tasmanian GetUp members, and help protect our native forests, by adding your name before the petition is delivered next week?

www.getup.org.au/campaign/newdeal4forests

Thanks for bringing the campaign this far,

The GetUp Team

PS – After the recent Tasmanian election, almost half of the Parliament are completely new faces. Four out of ten members of the new Labor Government have never been in Parliament before. Imagine their reactions when they’re presented with a huge national petition on their first days in office! Add your voice here:

www.getup.org.au/campaign/newdeal4forests
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