Matthew Denholm Australian
MOST Australians believe Environment Minister Peter Garrett should not have approved construction of the Tasmanian pulp mill before resolving concerns about its effluent, a new poll suggests. A survey of 1000 Australians, conducted by an independent researcher for The Wilderness Society, shows 62 per cent believe Mr Garrett was wrong to allow the mill to be built before receiving final environmental approval. Last week, Mr Garrett withheld final clearance for the mill to operate pending further studies on the impact of marine effluent, but gave proponent Gunns Ltd the green light to begin construction. While the situation has been described by mill opponents as “ludicrous”, Mr Garrett insisted it was the result of an approvals process inherited from his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull. The poll, conducted by Sydney-based Essential Research from January 6 to 11, found that only 21 per cent believed construction of the Tamar Valley mill should begin before final approvals were in place. “This is an independent poll conducted by an independent research organisation and the results are pretty clear: around Australia the majority of people believe that Peter Garrett has made the wrong decision,” said TWS campaigner Paul Oosting. Read more here
