Reading through the mass of documents associated with the Pulp Mill development I came across this statement in the Land Use and Development Permit which was submitted to the George Town Council.
The document is not dated however I am assuming that it would have been after 2007 and among its definitions is the following:
“woodchip mill site means the land where woodchipping activities (including log delivery areas, woodchipping, woodchip screening and storage and associated infrastructure) are located, and includes the land described in Certificate of Title 136962/1 with Property Identifier 2215945, Certificate of Title 136962/2 with Property Identifier 2215953, and part of that land described in Certificate of Title 128436/1 and/or any other area specified in writing by the Director.”
This seemed rather curious as the usual land titles associated with the Pulp Mill are 152001/1 136962/1 and 136962/2. So I went into the LIST and found that the title was actually for the wharf attached to the Gunns Ltd woodchip mill.
However if you look at title 128436/1 you can see that there are actually a further four titles in that same sequence. These are listed below.
The Lands Titles Office Plan Progress Search does not show this particular plan 128436 as having ever been lodged or registered in the LTO.
So what do these other titles refer to? They would have to be in fairly close proximity to the Gunns Ltd woodchip mill wharf. Well they are but they are so small you can hardly see them.
Here is 128436/2
And this is 128436/3 and 128436/4
128436/5 is pretty much the same
Who has any idea of what these titles represent? Are they rocky outcrops? Areas of seabed? Buoys? They must relate to something. I am not prepared to pay the required $150 to find out.
What do these registrations have to do with the Pulp Mill? When considering the approval for the pulp mill the Land Use and Development Permit defines the “pulp mill site” as “the land within those areas defined as the mill site the woodchip mill site, the wharf site and/or any other area specified by the Director.” In other words the Pulp Mill Site includes the titles in Plan 128436/1. The Minister’s attention is drawn to the Wharf area further up near Big Bay as shown in the Pulp Mill footprint shown below. But what about the other wharf area and its bizarre titling?
At this stage the Minister and the public are entitled to know all the titles to be finally consolidated in the final project boundary especially as easements are being obtained at the present time. You can see from the Project Boundary submitted for the Minister that the Project boundary does include the area in plan 128436 therefore we need to know exactly what is going on in that area.
One of the most striking aspects of the whole Pulp Mill project is the almost childish nature of the maps submitted for the Minister’s approval. The Minister has no idea from the above map that the bizarre little titles shown on theLIST even exist. He needs to be aware of the existence of such titles so that his legal department can see if there are no potential problems.
Not only that but the above map with its dinky little star does not show the land tenure of the area or the tenure associated with the sea. Generally the Gunns Ltd applications talk about the whole project involving freehold land plus some forestry land. However there is also a Crown Land licence covering the river in this area as shown below.
What is most puzzling about this process is that while Tas Ports has title to the wharf area near the woodchip mill, the land in the area where the new wharf will be is still a Reserve in the name of the Parks and Wildlife Service.
Why so much trouble undertaken to title minuscule plots in the water in the woodchip mill area and no trouble taken to obtain titles to one of the most important areas in the entire project, the proposed new wharf?
Laurie Levy has an interest in problem land regulation and is interested in hearing from people with problems arising from land ownership or any issues relating to anomalies in land title documents. He can be contacted at [email protected]. He is a grumpy old coot and may take some time to answer but eventually he will reply.
• ABC Online: Halt continues as Gunns finalises deal
The Tasmanian timber producer Gunns has extended its month-long trading halt as it continues negotiations on a $400 million capital raising plan.
The company has told the stock market that it will provide another update on the plan next Monday.
The capital raising comes after the Richard Chandler Corporation last month scrapped its $150 million bid to take up to 40 per cent of Gunns.
Shadforth Financial Group’s Matthew Torenius says it is unclear when Gunns will finalise its latest funding strategy.
“It is starting to drag out much longer than people expected.”
“The size of the capital raising and the details around that are obviously very important for the company and that seems to be the snag at the moment.
“They do need to speak to the existing shareholders and get an idea of what they would be happy to proceed with and they also have to tailor the offer so it would be enticing for new institutions to come on board.”
Mr Torenius says Gunns’ shareholders just have to sit tight.
“It doesn’t help the company’s cause but obviously with stock suspended, there’s not really much shareholders can do but sit and wait for the outcome of the current negotiations,” he said.
Gunns is yet to announce a joint venture partner for its $2.3 billion pulp mill planned for the Tamar Valley.
