[Greens-Media] Tas Greens_Forest Industry Spin on Pulp Mill Feedstock 'Dishonest'_K Booth MP

[greens at parliament.tas.gov.au]

GREENS SLAM 'DISHONEST' FOREST INDUSTRY SPIN ON PULP MILL

Even Forestry Tasmania Says Native Forests Will Go To Gunns in Wood
Supply Agreement

Kim Booth MP
Greens Pulp Mill spokesperson

Sunday, 9 August 2009
Contact: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03) 6233
8300

www.tas.greens.org.au


The Tasmanian Greens today refuted claims by the Forest Industry
Association of Tasmania (FIAT) that only plantation timber will be used
in the proposed Gunns' pulp mill, and accused the organisation of
attempting to deliberately deceive the Tasmanian public over the supply
of native forest timber to the company as pulpwood.

Greens Member for Bass and Pulp Mill spokesperson Kim Booth MP said that
Forestry Tasmania's Executive General Manager, Dr Hans Drielsma, made it
clear during last year's Government Businesses Estimates Scrutiny
Committee that the Pulpwood Supply Agreement with Gunns Ltd, will supply
native forest timber as part of the 1.5 million tonnes commitment.

Mr Booth also pointed to Clause 7 of the Long Term Pulpwood Supply
Agreement between Forestry Tasmania and Gunns Ltd, which also states
that:

7. SOURCE AND PLANNING OF PULPWOOD SUPPLY

7.1 General

(a) Subject to Clause 7.5, Pulpwood to be Made Available to Gunns by
Forestry Tasmania under this Contract will be obtained from the Supply
Sources, being from:

(i) native forest on State Forest;

(ii) eucalypt Plantations on State Forest; ...

"It is an outrageous and dishonest claim for anyone within the forestry
industry to make, that the proposed Gunns' pulp mill at Longreach will
only source plantation timber as its pulp feedstock," Mr Booth said.

"The fact that Forestry Tasmania's Executive General Manager has stated
before a Parliamentary Committee that the long-term pulp wood supply
agreement with Gunns provides for 1.5 million tonnes of timber to the
company as pulp wood, and that a proportion of that, 'will come from the
rest of the forest estate', which exposes any assertion to the contrary
at best ill-informed, or worst, to be a lie."

"The information on the public record makes it very clear that native
forests will be provided to Gunns under their pulpwood supply agreement,
and it is now incumbent upon industry representative, including FIAT, to
retract false statements trying to claim otherwise." 

"If the company has truly changed its mind and will not use any native
forest feedstock in its pulp mill, then it should immediately seek an
amendment to the Long Term Pulpwood Supply agreement to remove all
reference from native forest timber being supplied as feedstock by
Forestry Tasmania."

"Until that happens forest industry comment must provide all the facts
and be upfront and honest about the native forest timber component of
the Wood Supply Agreement," Mr Booth said.


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References:

[1] Long Term Pulpwood Supply Agreement, Contract Of Sale No. 917 of 20
December 2007; between Forestry Tasmania and Gunns Limited; pg 16.

[2] HANSARD Excerpt - Wednesday 3 December 2008 - House of Assembly -
Government Businesses Scrutiny Committee -  Forestry Tasmania

Dr Drielsma - ...I'd have to check the detail - that there is a certain
amount of plantation wood that we have projected.  We have made that
very clear and public.  The remainder of what we have projected is
available will come from the rest of the forest estate.  As to what
Gunns will use in their pulp mill, that is entirely a matter for them.
We have a contract for 1.5 million tonnes and their mill is obviously
going to use a lot more and they have lots of other sources of timbers,
as we understand, that will feed that mill.

Mr Booth - So to make it absolutely crystal clear, there will be 1
million tonnes of native forest mixed species going to Gunns, you are
not sure whether they will use that in the pulp mill, but nonetheless FT
will continue to provide another 1 million tonnes for whatever purposes
Gunns wants as pulp wood.

Dr Drielsma -We will provide a total of 1.5 million, which is the
contract we have.

Mr Booth - As pulp wood - that is contracted under the long-term pulp
wood supply?  

Dr Drielsma - Contracted to pulp wood, and that is consistent with what
we have been supplying that company and its predecessor for more than 20
years.





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