Pulp mill legislation would compound existing failures

New legislation to protect the dodgy pulp mill approval permit from court judgements would only serve to galvanise community opposition against the pulp mill being built and compound its illegitimacy, the Wilderness Society said today.

“New legislation to sure up the expired pulp mill permits compounds the existing assessment and governance failures surrounding the project,” said Wilderness Society spokesperson Vica Bayley.

Even the fast-track assessment demonstrated the mill failed to meet set guidelines, despite those guidelines being for a more remote location at Hampshire. Doubts removal legislation to preempt successful legal challenge would add another layer of flawed parliamentary process over the existing discredited assessment and approval by Parliament.

“Protecting what was already a dodgy process from legitimate court rulings sets a dangerous precedent on top of process already acknowledged as a low point in Tasmanian governance.

“This project and the way it was approved have brought down a Premier and Deputy Premier; it has bankrupted a proponent and outraged the community. Fixing one flaw with another special act of parliament does nothing to address outstanding issues or generate the public support developments need to operate in the 21st century.”
Vica Bayley, The Wilderness Society