The community group Friends of the Tamar Valley today released a dossier giving a brief overview of why we will continue to campaign locally, nationally and internationally to stop the proposed Tamar Valley pulp mill.
After almost 6 years and in anticipation of an imminent announcement on private forestry negotiations, Friends of the Tamar Valley believe that negotiators should be reminded of why the Pulp Mill is non-negotiable to the people who live in the region.
“FTV is opposed to any pulp mill in the Tamar Valley,” member of FTV, Vanessa Bleyer said. “At this crucial time, when FTV and other community groups know that there are negotiations taking place between environment and industry groups, it is timely that a professional and fact-based document be produced. The public deserve to be aware and reminded of why no pulp mill in the Tamar Valley is acceptable” she said. “The dossier does this”. “FTV are resolute in ensuring that no pulp mill proceeds in the Tamar Valley”.
The proposed Tamar Valley pulp mill will:
• Seriously compromise existing jobs, pulp mill sensitive businesses and the iconic Tamar Valley’s $500million a year tourism industry;
• adversely affect the health of the 100,000 people that live in the Tamar Valley;
• verify an improper assessment process for approval of the mill;
• dump 64,000 tonnes of toxic effluent off the northern shores of Tasmania every day.
Download:
FTV_Dossier_(20_8_10).pdf
And … ABC Online:
Gunns keeping mum on native forest exit plan
The Tasmanian timber company Gunns is refusing to deny speculation it has set a date for its exit from the logging of native forests.
Reports in the financial media suggest Gunns is poised to stop logging Tasmania’s native forests as early as December this year.
A company spokesman would not put a timeline on the company’s plan to become a solely plantation-based operation, but Gunns’ chief executive Greg L’Estrange has told the Financial Review the company is keen to move on and build its pulp mill.
“We need to get this resolved sooner rather than later and transition our industry… to a modern forest industry in Tasmania that largely is centred around the construction of a world-class pulp mill,” Mr L’Estrange said.
Contractors surprised
Forestry contractors have expressed surprise at the claims that Gunns plans to end the logging of native forests in Tasmania by Christmas.
Ed Vincent from the Tasmanian Forest Contractors’ Association says he has not heard about a December deadline.
“I haven’t been privy to any discussions with Gunns which indicate a four-month timescale of their exit,” he said.
“But this could well be a part of the ongoing negotiations that are going on between various industry bodies and the environmental non-government organisations.”
Govt silent
The Premier, David Bartlett, refused to rule out the state-owned company Forestry Tasmania filling any gap – by taking on the woodchipping of native forests – because he said he wanted to avoid compromising peace talks between the forest industry and green groups.
