Prospective buyers need to be aware that community opposition to the Tamar Valley pulp mill remains

In a recent advertisement in the Australian Financial Review (15/4/15), Gunns’ receivers, KordaMentha called for expressions of interest in the Tamar Valley pulp mill land, with or without the pulp mill permits.

Spokesperson for the No Pulp Mill Alliance, Lucy Landon-Lane said: “While we are pleased that KordaMentha is willing now to sell the pulp mill land without the permits attached we still have some concerns regarding a statement in local media from Michael Smith from KordaMentha which states that ‘previous uncertainty about where the potential new owner could source timber had been rectified.’ When I asked Mr Smith about this statement he did not rule out the possibility that native forest timber could be used by a prospective buyer of the pulp mill permits.”

Lucy Landon-Lane continued, “Prospective buyers need to be aware that community opposition to the Tamar Valley pulp mill remains as strong as it ever was, and that the people of Tasmania would be outraged if native timber harvesting is seen to be part of the package to sell this stinking mill. The proposed pulp mill was fast tracked through state parliament in 2007 when it was deemed to be critically non-compliant in the proposal’s environmental assessment by the independent Resource Planning and Development Commission. It was again fast tracked through Tasmanian parliament in 2014 to remove the doubts shadowing the project by a Supreme Court case challenging the legitimacy of the permits.”

“The buyers of Gunns’ plantations, Forico, have previously ruled out any possibility that they would sell the timber to the Tamar Valley pulp mill. The remaining plantations in Tasmania are not sufficient to supply the needs of this project. The only solution which the people of the Tamar Valley would accept is for the land to be sold for another project which is sustainable and compliments existing clean, green industry in the valley; and the permits for the proposed pulp mill be made defunct forever.” She concluded.
Spokesperson for the No Pulp Mill Alliance, Lucy Landon-Lane