[Greens-Media] Milne invites Giddings to the forests

[Willis, Katrina (Sen C. Milne)]

Friday, 19 August 2005

Milne invites Giddings to the forests

Feedstock critical to technology choices

Australian Greens Senator for Tasmania Christine Milne today invited
Tasmanian Minister for Economic Development Lara Giddings to see native
forest areas still available for conversion to plantation.

"I'm inviting Ms Giddings to come with me to the unprotected slopes of
Ben Lomond and to the north-east highlands to see for herself that,
contrary to her assertion, conversion of old growth forest to
plantations has not ceased with the revised Regional Forest Agreement
(RFA)," Senator Milne said in Hobart.

"The RFA allows for 70,000 ha of native forest to be cleared in Tasmania
and already Forestry Tasmania has earmarked 16,000 ha of that, including
old growth, to be converted to plantation.

"The fatal flaw in the government's assessment process for the Gunns Ltd
pulp mill is that it excludes any public comment on the feedstock, which
determines bleaching technology.

"What is the point of the Pulp Mill Taskforce asking people to comment
on technology options when the government has decided to feed the mill
native forest, thus ruling out the technologies that could be applied to
a plantation-based feedstock?

"Only last year Tasmanians were promised a chlorine-free mill that
focused on processing premium plantation timber. 

"The decision by Gunns, backed by the government including Minister
Giddings, to seek access to native forests for up to 30 years as the
pulp mill feedstock, immediately put paid to chlorine-free.

"If you use mixed-age eucalypt, the consequence is the use of chlorine
compounds in the bleaching sequences.

"Instead of trying to defend Gunns and the government's back-flip on the
promise of a chlorine-free pulp mill, Minister Giddings should stand up
to the Premier and to John Gay and make chlorine free happen by
insisting that any Tasmanian pulp mill should be plantation-based."  

Contact: Katrina Willis 0437 587 562 or 02 6277 3063


Katrina Willis
Adviser
Office of Senator Christine Milne
03 6234 4566 (phone)
0437 587 562
03 6234 2144 (fax)
www.greens.org.au