Dear Sir,
I am writing to you because like a very large number of Tasmanians, I am frustrated and disillusioned with the total disregard our elected representatives in this state have for the citizens who they are supposed to serve. There is truly something very rotten in the state of Tasmania.
This afternoon I could not believe my ears when I heard Jeremy Rockliff, Liberal Party MHA in State parliament, express heartfelt concern about the public not being given more time to debate the Pulp Mill issue and acknowledge that the Government had bungled the whole approval process, then with his next breath say that the so called Opposition would not support a proposal put forth by the Greens to suspend the Pulp Mill vote in Parliament to allow further public debate on the project and give Parliament the power to amend the Pulp Mill Permit. What utter hypocrisy! It seems that the “Claytons” Opposition in this state is more interested in eliminating the Greens than in defeating the Government, or more importantly – REPRESENTING THEIR CONSTITUENTS. Could it be that the reason we, THE PEOPLE, have ceased to be represented, or our voices heard, is because both the Liberal and Labour Parties have compromised themselves by accepting campaign funds from Gunns Ltd.?
The Mercury editorial on Friday 17th August indicated support for the Pulp Mill project. I ask you where the logic is in supporting a project that the majority of people in this state do not want and that will put in jeopardy far more jobs, businesses and reputations than it will create. The potential losses this project represents to the state economy and well being far outweigh any inflated benefits.
I would suggest it is time for a responsible publication like “The Mercury” to side with the people and Democracy and declare this Pulp Mill dead in the water! There is simply too much risk and too many shonky figures to allow it to go ahead. This is a project that smacks of modern day economic exploitation and is not worthy of consideration by a supposedly highly developed, socially responsible nation, like Australia in the 21st century . I appreciate that your advertising revenues might suffer if you were to take this stand but courage always has a price.
R. G. Russell-Stone
Hobart
