Environment Groups challenge Big Business

Gunns’ pulpmill site … fast-tracked … and still not built

This World Environment Day, Environment Tasmania, Environment Defenders Office and BirdLife Tasmania (formerly Birds Tasmania) have joined with 18 other environment groups across Australia to challenge the greedy and selfish efforts by big business in recent months to drag federal environmental laws back 30 years.

In April this year, big business convinced the Federal Government and Federal Opposition to consider allowing State governments to have the final say on development proposal approvals. The Business Council of Australia have been calling for governments to ‘cut the green tape’ so projects can by-pass due process and be approved with scant regard for environmental values.

“This is the biggest step backwards in environmental protection, regulation and environmental law in 30-years. A State based approach will not work. There are many examples where State governments have failed to place national environmental interests above local political expediency. The Tamar valley pulp mill approval process is just one example, ” said Jess Feehley of the Environment Defenders Office.

“Australia has an obligation to protect threatened and migratory species in the national, and international, interest. Given the demonstrated weaknesses in Tasmania’s threatened species legislation, the Federal protection has been critical to meeting this obligation. Relying on Tasmanian legislation alone has the potential to compromise long term protection of iconic species and vegetation communities,” she continued.

“It is short-sighted of the Federal Government and Opposition to consider such a move and disappointing that the nation’s Business Council wants to take us back 30-years to the old, dirty ways of doing things. The broader community has an expectation that the business sector in the 21st century will operate with a triple bottom line. Australia’s leading businesses realise that their success in today’s markets depends on having socially acceptable and sustainable products which are endorsed with a social licence,” said Emma Anglesey of Environment Tasmania.

“Australia has a globally unique and important environment and it’s one of our greatest assets. Tasmania is renowned for our clean air, pristine waters, vast wilderness and unique species. One only needs to think of the spotted hand fish, the Tasmanian devil and the Wedge-Tailed Eagle and our old-growth forests to understand why we have environmental laws to make sure these places are not sacrificed to big business,” she continued.

The three groups today urged the Australian Government not to give in to the pressure of big business and called on the Tasmanian Government to adequately resource the Threatened Species Unit within DPIPWE and the Parks and Wildlife Service.

“With a remarkable bird fauna, including some Critically Endangered species such as the Orange-bellied Parrot, Tasmania has much to lose if these species follow the Tasmanian tiger to extinction” said Dr Eric Woehler of BirdLife Tasmania.

“Birds provide an excellent indicator – a bio-indicator – on the state of the health of their environment, and the message we are receiving from birds in Tasmania, in Australia, and around the entire world, is that all is not well with the world’s environment. Almost one in seven species of birds globally are threatened, with habitat loss the greatest contributor to the loss of biodiversity,” he continued.

“Unfortunately the same is true in Australia, with habitat destruction and fragmentation leading to the loss of our unique biodiversity. How will future generations look back at our poor efforts to conserve our species?” said Dr Woehler.

Emma Anglesey is an environmental educator and consultant and has worked with Environment Tasmania for the past 2 years.

Dr Eric Woehler is the Convenor of BirdLife Tasmania (formerly Birds Tasmania). He has been researching seabirds and shorebirds for more than 30 years around the world, and is presently investigating the potential impacts of sea-level rise on beach-nesting birds in Tasmania.

A Facebook flyer created by the Greens to be shared on Facebook

• PARKS ARE GREEN BEATING HEART OF STATE’S SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY
Mark World Environment Day By Recognising Billion-Dollar Value of our National Parks To State Economy

Cassy O’Connor MP
Greens Environment spokesperson
Tuesday 5 June 2012

The Tasmanian Greens today answered the question posed by the theme of World Environment Day, “Green Economy: Does It Include You?”, with the answer, ‘Yes, and National Parks are at the Green beating heart of Tasmania’s sustainable economy’.

Greens Environment spokesperson Cassy O’Connor MP said $1.2 billion was the value of Tasmania’s World Heritage Areas to the State’s economy, according to a Federal Government report Economic Activity of Australia’s World Heritage Areas.

“Add the economic, social, natural and spiritual value of a Bay of Fires, Tarkine and Freycinet World Heritage Area or National Park to this $1.2bn and you’re looking at millions more dollars, perhaps as much as $1.5bn, flowing into the economy and thousands more jobs,” said Ms O’Connor.

“On World Environment Day it pays to reassess the multi-million dollar wealth supplied by our national parks and protected areas network, and our national parks in waiting.”

“These overlooked but incredibly impressive figures of $1.2bn and more than 5,000 jobs are just the start. In some people’s minds, there is the misconception that our National Parks and World Heritage Areas are somehow uneconomic, jobs-neutral and unproductive, when, in reality the opposite is true.”

“It’s well known that Lonely Planet named Bay of Fires the world’s “hottest” travel destination in 2009. The Greens say, make it a National Park and it gets even hotter.”

“The Cradle Coast Authority’s 2008 Tarkine Tourism Development Strategy put the value of a Tarkine National Park at $58 million and worth 1,100 local direct and indirect jobs. Fact.”

“And today Freycinet is spearheading a $250 million global advertising campaign promoting Australia’s most attractive places.”

“The myth that Tasmania’s National Parks are uneconomic, valueless and don’t support jobs refuses to die. But die it must, because the “lock-up” mythology is used to advocate for mining in the Tarkine and elsewhere.”

“Cowboy economists, who believe the only serious economic proposition is heavy industry just can’t accept the premise that National Parks create wealth and jobs by preserving the State’s natural wonders.”

“Unchecked mining of wilderness and industrial-scale deforestation are part of the old economy because they’re effectively single-use and, when you’ve used up the ‘resource’ you just move on.”

“Post-GFC, the world is waking up the need for a new economic consensus, with genuine sustainability at its heart. Our network of National Parks and World Heritage Areas are already there.”

“Advocates of infinite growth and of the ‘cut-it-down, dig-it-up like there’s no tomorrow’ mentality share the same economic policy as the long-gone Easter islanders. When they cut down their last tree, they had to find another island. On Planet Earth, there’s nowhere else to go.”

“These same cowboy economists say National Parks will be “locked up”, suggesting they are somehow separate from people and the economy. The truth is that our network of National Parks and World Heritage Areas are the green beating heart of the state’s sustainable economy, they’re unlocked and open for business and public use.”

“World Environment Day’s Green economy theme asks if the Green economy includes you. It needs to include everyone. To guarantee everyone’s health, wellbeing and happiness are secured into the future, the entire economy, local, state, Federal and global, needs to go green.”

“There isn’t a single job, anywhere, which doesn’t in some way depend on a strong and functioning environment. Healthy ecosystems underpin human wellbeing.”

“The Greens hope for the economic value of our parks and wilderness areas to be more widely recognised because doing so would do so much to boost the emerging low-carbon economy, from which we can all benefit,” said Ms O’Connor.