smell

A Better Australia and TAP conducted two workshops with approximately 120 members to plan strategies to stop the pulp mill.

Sorted outputs from TAP/ A Better Australia presentations on 21 Jan 2008

What concerns does audience have for the future?

Social issues

• Ignorance & apathy of public
• Disempowerment of the young
• Lack of education & political education for our young
• Fragmentation of community into dysfunctional nuclear families
• Dysfunctional entrenched political thinking
• Insanity
• Loss of jobs to overseas call centres
• Lack of engagement in political process
• Lack of engagement in local government process
• Inability to distinguish between needs and wants
• Poor understanding of power of vote (not enough Green votes??)

Unrealisable expectation

George Town municipality rate payers can now vote on four questions on the pulp mill elector poll. TAP recommends the following guide to voting. 

Question 1 A - the approval process - Vote NO
We were told that the mill had to be fast tracked through Parliament for commercial reasons. But project finance has not been secured, the required studies are not complete, final federal approvals have not been given and construction is at least 6 months away.

Facts the Tasmanian Government and Gunns Ltd don’t want people to know about the proposed Tamar valley pulp mill, Tasmania, Australia. Timber company Gunns Ltd wants to build a ‘world scale’ pulp mill in the clean green Tamar valley. The proposal is planned to go ahead despite majority opposition from Tasmanians and Australians and massive risks to food production and fisheries, from air and water pollution, water shortages and release of carbon stores into the atmosphere.

The air in a valley
Launceston lies in the Tamar valley and is regularly subject to thermal inversions that trap particulates and smells. Gunns want to build the pulp mill in the Tamar valley.

Did you ever count how many times Paul Lennon says 'tough' when speaking about guidelines. Well this is what Lennon 'tough' talk means.

Warning! Planning Minister Kons says this is "misleading" too.

Credentials

Dr Warwick Raverty has over 25 years experience in the pulp and paper industry. He has been a research manager and senior principal research scientist in the pulp and paper research group of Ensis (formerly CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products) for the past 7 years. Prior to joining CSIRO, Dr Raverty gained 20 years industrial experience in manufacture of pulp and paper as an independent consultant and also in a variety of research, technical and managerial roles as an employee of Amcor and Australian Paper Manufacturers.

Report by the CSIRO commissioned by the RPDC on the Air Quality issues suggests that the IIS is deficient in many areas.
CSIRO report on air quality 866 Kb

The Australian Medical Association have said that the IIS does not address their concerns over health issues and therefore they do not support the current proposal:
No 473 Australian Medical Association submission 147 Kb

Dr Owen Ingles points out the lack of a proper risk management assessment for the population living within 50km of the proposed pulp mil.
No 73 Dr Owen Ingles submission 137 Kb

Documents sourced from www.rpdc.tas.gov.au