Science pulped so Gunns can profit
On Monday night I watched the 4 Corners episode about the Gunns pulp mill controversy, Grist to the Mill. Gunns, Australia’s biggest native-forest logging company, wants to build a pulp mill in the Tamar Valley, Tasmania. There are serious environmental concerns about the mill, and the community strongly opposes it, but the State Labor government has pushed it through all the review processes and waved away all legal requirements. Parliament votes on the pulp mill in 4 weeks, but Gunns has already arranged for development to start the week after that. Four Corners interviewed the people responsible for the environmental review of the mill, as well as protesters and supporters.
So what’s wrong with Gunn’s pulp mill?
The Wilderness Society has two videos on You Tube that explain the problems: Part 1 (10 mins) and Part 2 (7 mins). Some of the environmental problems the pulp mill will create:
- 80% of the trees it uses will come from native forests. This will destroy the forests in Great Western Tiers, North East Highlands, Ben Lomond, Blue Tier and the Eastern Tiers, which are habitats for endangered Tasmanian Devils and Wedge-tailed eagles.
- The sulphur and chlorine dioxide used to bleach the pulp will cause air pollution. The Australian Medical Association believes the pulp mill pollution is a health risk.
- The smell from the air pollution will affect the tourism and wine industry nearby. I know I wouldn’t visit a wine region that smelled like rotten eggs!
- It will dump 64,000 tons of effluent, with dioxins and furans, into the Bass Strait each day.
- The water pollution from the effluent will damage the Bass Strait fishing industry and endanger Humpback whales.
- It will draw 40 billion litres of water from the South Esk catchment region, and recycle none of it.
What benefits does the pulp mill provide?
- About 233 jobs.
- Profit for Gunns, but probably less than they’d like, since world pulp markets are showing a drop in prices. The financial benefit to Gunns investors is uncertain - CommSec advises investors to sell their Gunns shares if the pulp mill goes ahead.
What’s wrong with the political process?
It’s clear that the Gunns pulp mill fails all environmental requirements, but Premier Lennon has shown that anyone with enough money can buy their way out of legal difficulties. He cancelled the standard RPDC (Resource Planning & Development Commission) process when Gunns felt that it was taking too long, even though the delays were Gunns’ fault for providing incomplete information, and missing deadlines. Instead Lennon has created a special fast-track assessment just for Gunns, one that doesn’t involve scientific scrutiny or community input.
Additionally, the Tasmanian government’s Pulp Mill Task Force uses taxpayer money to promote a private business through “a multi-million dollar public information campaign, including this travelling bus, a website, a hotline, leaflets, pamphlets and DVDs” (quoted from the 4 Corners episode).
New Matilda’s article Pulped lists what’s happened so far, including the resignations of RPDC members due to interference from the Task Force, and the way Lennon prevented the RPDC from completing their assessment by rushing a mill-approval bill through parliament.
The federal government, although it has some say in the issue, is equally keen to fast-track approval of the pulp mill. Minister for the Environment, Malcolm Turnbull, is reviewing the situation, but since the federal government has already contributed $5 million in subsidies to Gunns, and has restricted the review, it’s unlikely they’ll rule against it.
What can you do?
At this stage, major community action is the only thing that will stop the Gunns pulp mill from being built. There are several campaigns you can support - The Wilderness Society’s anti-mill campaign and the Tasmanian Greens’ campaign are the most active at the moment. They are calling for a halt to development of the pulp mill, followed by a proper environmental review; and a royal commission into the state government who have ignored their statutory obligations.
You can also raise your voice as investor and customer: the Commonwealth Bank, AMP and Perpetual Investments are all major shareholders in Gunns, and might respond to pressure from their customers. And if you own shares in Gunns as part of your portfolio or managed fund, you can join the Gunns Ethical Shareholders group to try to create pressure from within the company.