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What the political parties and independents are saying
Pulp mill commentary
Plugger is an Australian news monitoring service. Register FREE to monitor Gunns. www.plugger.com.au/news/Gunns/
Three Tamar Valley business owners and Environment Tasmania recently challenged but lost a Supreme Court action to test the infamous Section 11 of the Pulp Mill Assessment Act. Prior to the case, the government had refused repeated requests to provide reasons for its assessment and decision to approve the mill. In July 2009, Justice Peter Evans dismissed the business owners case, on the grounds that Section 11 prevented those questions from being answered. The decision confirms that Section 11 removes the rights of any citizen to obtain information about provisions placed on the mill. Go to www.et.org.au for more information and to make a donation to help cover costs.
How do pulp and paper mills rate? A new website www.Pulpwatch.org launched by an international coalition of NGOs brings together GoogleMaps technology, environmental risks and manufacturing data on pulp and paper mills to reveal their practices and rate their performance on social and environmental criteria. The website will be a tool for paper purchasers to find information easily on how a pulp mill is performing and identify social and environmental risks associated with those operations, no matter where they are in the world. Pulpwatch.org provides transparency by assigning a Red, Yellow, or Green rating, in multiple categories for individual pulp mills. It rewards pulp mills which have adopted the cleanest technologies and embraced responsible fibre sourcing through credible forest certification by assigning a Green Light rating. It exposes pulp mills which have failed to adopt sustainable practices, or who are in conflict with local communities or workers by assigning a Red Light rating. www.Pulpwatch.org
BankTrack is a network of civil society organisations and individuals tracking the operations of the private financial sector (commercial banks, investors, insurance companies, pension funds) and its effect on sustainability of people and the planet. See "dodgy deals" for a summary of Gunns planned pulp mill. www.banktrack.org
ANZ announced their decision regarding their potential funding of Gunns’ pulp mill at www.anz.com/ANZ-Gunns . No reasons are supplied, however.
Video of TAP meetings at tap films.
Legal analysis regarding whether the previous Environment Minister Turnbull lied and had acted fraudulently in giving provisional approval to Gunns pulp mill. www.sydney-law.com .
The Tasmanian times was described by the ex Tasmanian premier Paul Lennon as ‘f…..g useless’. An active site, it has vigorous critiques and commentary on the mill and other issues. www.tasmaniantimes.com
Web site by a Tamar valley resident. www.tamarpulpmill.info
Richard Flanagan's beautifully written article on forestry in Tasmania. This was the article that spurred Geoffrey Cousins into action and put the pulp mill on the national stage. www.themonthly.com.au
You Tube features short video clips, funny and serious about the pulp mill debate submitted by individuals. New videos are continually being added. www.youtube.com
Log trucks on Tasmanian roads. Lots of photos of log truck crashes and near misses. In Tasmania, one truck (of any kind) rolls over or crashes every two days on average (RACT). This is not the story that the Minister for Tourism wants interstate visitors to know about. www.drive-tasmania.com
Typing is not activism gives a Sydneysider's take on Tasmania. www.typingisnotactivism.wordpress.com
Independent expert analysis
The Australian Medical Association of Tasmania is concerned about the health risks to 100 000 people living in the Tamar valley. www.amatas.com.au
Economic impacts
Gunns Investor Information Service is a group of independent investors in Gunns with an interest in accountable resource management and evidence based investment strategies within Australia. We believe that Gunns has ignored vital variables when planning their mill project, and we wish to help others minimise their exposure to this company’s seemingly cavalier risk taking. www.gunnsinvestors.blogspot.com
The Tasmanian Business Round Table is promoting sustainable businesses and is modelled on the very successful Australian Business Round Table. See its report on the mill at: www.lec.org.au
Tasmanian Fishing Industry Council's site outlines the impact on fishing in Bass Strait. www.t fic.com.au
Environmental impacts
Pollution Information Tasmania is the independent Tasmanian Public and Environmental Health Network website. It lists the 'Toxicity in Water of George River - Research Findings 2004 to 2008'. The research by Dr Scammell and Dr Bleaney shows that an unknown toxin (most likely from the nitens plantations) has a consistent presence in the water of the George River. The toxin is present in the foam in the river and the bay at levels that are hazardous to oyster larvae but is also present in the water column and is known to adversely affect human cell lines. The George River is the source of the raw drinking water for St Helens and surrounding environs and also feeds Georges Bay, home to a well established oyster industry. www.sourcewatch.org.
'A WORM in the APPLE' documents the fight against overwhelming odds by Tasmanians desperate for a return to democracy and a return to sanity in a world being torn apart by greed. The story by film maker David Leigh is available as a DVD or a book from www.awormintheapple.com.au.
Cleanairtas is campaigning to draw attention to air pollution from forestry fires and their health effects. Deliberately lit forestry fires produce large quantities of smoke across Tasmania which people are forced to breathe. This is causing misery to many people in the short term, and the long term effects on the whole Tasmanian population are huge. www.cleanairtas.com
Carbon Trade Watch is monitoring the corruption of the climate change debate by carbon offset industry particularly by planting trees. www.carbontradewatch.org
Lawyers for Forests is an association of legal professionals working towards the protection and conservation of Australia's remaining native forests. LFF believes that the industrial scale woodchipping and clear felling of our native forests is a matter of serious public concern. LFF is active on a number of levels to promote awareness of the issue and advocate change. http://www.lawyersforforests.asn.au
Coolforests.org is an online resource dedicated to highlighting the importance of preserving Australia's old forests in the fight against global warming. www.coolforests.org
The Australian Clean Ocean Foundation focuses on the potential damage to the marine environment. www.cleanocean.org
Marine life images from Bass Strait and other areas of Tasmania by Jon Bryan. www.seanature.southcom.com.au
The Wilderness Society is a community-based environmental advocacy organisation whose mission is protecting, promoting and restoring wilderness and natural processes across Australia for the survival and ongoing evolution of life on Earth. www.wilderness.org.au
Blue Tier community group fighting for Tasmania’s north east native forests; the area that will take the brunt of clearing for Gunns pulp mill. www.bluetier.org
Save the Mary River in Queensland. This river threatens world heritage Fraser Island, the great Sandy Straights and the Ramsar wetlands, along with many endangered species. www.savethemaryriver.com
Groups for a better Australia
Pulp the Mill is a collective of individuals firmly committed to peacefully protest and engage in civil disobedience as one of the means to stopping the mill. Our petitions, rallies, reports and letters have been ignored and our democracy is seriously flawed. It is becoming clear we are being left with few alternatives. We invite you to join us as a supporter, or to willingly be arrested if that is what it takes for change to come. Pulp the Mill
GoFundraise aims to help charitable and community organisations raise funds through donations. GoFundraise aims to make online fundraising more easily accessible, effective and cost efficient than ever before. GoFundraise is managed by a team of experienced professionals and also has an independent Advisory Board to ensure that best-practice processes and full accounting auditability are constantly maintained and regularly exceeded. www.gofundraise.com.au
Tasmanians for a Healthy Democracy is actively promoting honest, transparent, accountable and interactive governance in Tasmania. www.tashealthydemocracy.com
Sustainable Agricultural Communities Australia was formed in response to community pressure around Australia for an independent, coordinated rural voice. Robert Belcher the founding director is very concerned about the negative impacts on rural communities caused by Managed Investment Scheme plantation tax support. Sustainable Agricultural Communities Australia
A Better Australia is designed to help people make better sense of their world and their options. It is NOT a news service but a collection of useful ideas, contacts observations, thoughts, technologies and tools to provide people with an alternative view to that promoted by conventional news and entertainment services. www.abetteraustralia.com/
Students Against the Pulp Mill is a Tasmanian based student organisation that was created for the highly successful student strike that was held in Hobart, 1 November. Students Against the Pulp Mill
GetUp is a web-based community group with over 170 000 members lobbying for a better Australia. www.getup.org.au
Pulp mills around the world
Botnia pulp mill U-tube video. This polluting mill is the same design proposed for the Tamar Valley and is 'advertised' as world's best practice. As seen in the video, after two years in operation the pollution in the river between Uruguay and Argentina is atrocious. The same man, Timo Piilonen, who oversaw this mill, blasting aside all opposition from Argentina and all communities, is the same person hired by John Gay. It is not only the waste in the river but the air quality and obnoxious smell emanating from the mill which has caused up to 100,000 people protest continually on the bridge between the 2 countries. Argentina took Uruguay to the International Court of Justice in the Hague over the issue. Take the time to watch and see what Gunns supported by Liberal and Labor politicians want to inflict on Tasmanians. Video link to the Botnia pulp mill Uruguay
The Center for Human Rights and Environment is a non-profit organization which aims to build a more harmonious relationship between the environment and people. It reports occasionally on the Botnia pulp mill war and related issues. Go to Center for Human Rights and Environment .
Chris Lang is a forester who has worked with non government organisations around the world to document forestry and pulp mill issues on his website. chrislang.org
Urgewald is a German non-profit organisation concerned about the underlying causes of global environmental destruction and poverty. Its new website documents the problems caused by the pulp industry's operations around the world. www.pulpmillwatch.org
The Santiago Times South American newspaper reports on pulp mills such as Celco. www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes
The Real World Radio FM reports on pulp mills such as Celco and their problems. www.realworldradio.fm
The US Center for Media & Democracy. www.sourcewatch.org
Government
Gunns Ltd pulp mill project home site. www.gunnspulpmill.com.au
Tasmanian Government’s Pulp Mill Task Force was set up to spruik the mill. www.pulpmill.tas.gov.au
Tasmanian Government Resource Planning and Development Commission is the planning body that was sidelined by Gunns walking away from the planning process. www.rpdc.tas.gov.au
Sweco Pic and ITS Global reports commissioned by the Tasmanian Government’s spruiking the pulp mill. www.justice.tas .gov.au
The Tasmanian government’s pulp mill permits (3 volumes - 2 large, 1 small). www.justice.tas .gov.au
Tasmanian Parliament's Hansard allows you to search for key words eg "pulp Ivan Dean". www.hansard.parliament.tas.gov.au
Federal Department of Environment and Water Resources administers the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. www.environment.gov.au/epbc
What the political parties and independents are saying
Tasmanian Greens www.tas.greens.org.au
Greens Senator Christine Milne www.christinemilne.org.au
Tasmanian Liberal Party www.tas.liberal.org.au
Tasmanian Labor Party www.tas.alp.org.au
