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The Forum > Article Comments > Tasmania: When 'Green' philanthropy becomes a wrecking ball > Comments

Tasmania: When 'Green' philanthropy becomes a wrecking ball : Comments

By Mark Poynter, published 21/7/2011

Potentially crippling a state economy and ruining thousands of lives redefines what it means to be a philanthropist

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Nervous Nellie

That 5 million tonnes from Tasmania...you might find if you look on the website for ABARE that the volume of chips referred to is for all states

Not so:
In 2000, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says Tasmania woodchipped 5,498,654 tonnes, the highest volume ever recorded.

Also : I have been on the road to Triabunna when the mill was in operation and before the GFC, when there was a constant flow of trucks, all carrying timber to the mill. Long straight, thick trees, nothing wrong with them and certainly not the residue after the mills have taken their high value wood.

Do not give me the usual meaningless spin about the trash left over from fishing, wheat and so on.

Clear fell wood chipping is an exercise in dollar greed, with no thought of environmentalism only profit,profit,profit.
Posted by sarnian, Monday, 25 July 2011 3:47:25 PM
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JanF
I too have seen first hand the effect of clearfalling native forest 1 year on. I agree that it doesn't look all that great, but it is not too dissimilar to native forest that has had a high intensity fire through it. Have you ever seen a napalm burn? I am not sure where you would have seen a napalm burn? Yes napalm can be used in small amounts - eg ping pong ball sizes to start fires, but hardly compares to broad scale napalm that you are referring to, actually i wouldn't know cause i havent seen a broadscale napalm burn.

I too have seen first hand the effect of clearfalling 1 year on, 5 years on, 20 years on etc. It is very interesting that "Decimated forest that was napalm burnt" is so bad that there are so many hectares of it now in national park, areas that the Greens are calling old growth! If clearfalling was soooo bad, how come there are so many clearfelled ares that are sooo good they are now National Parks. You only have to look at the Vic Central Highlands, Southern Tassie, NSW SE Coast, Otways etc.
Posted by Rumpelstiltskin, Monday, 25 July 2011 4:40:52 PM
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Check out this article. Reminiscent of the green movement. I am sure Sarnian will be able to "Cherry pick" this one.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/blogs/blunt-instrument/cherry-picking-from-the-tree-of-knowledge-20110720-1homu.html
Posted by Rumpelstiltskin, Monday, 25 July 2011 4:45:46 PM
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Back to the topic of MPoynters article

It is interesting that the Greens have always criticised that "Big Business" uses there muscle to get what they want, regardless of what the people want. Now we are seeing big business (Jan Cameron) using there muscle and money to do something regardless of what the people want. The greens have always said that business is more powerful than the governments. I think they are right, who is running Tasmania, Premier Jan Cameron?
Posted by Rumpelstiltskin, Monday, 25 July 2011 5:08:41 PM
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Just what is the impact of clear falling in wet eucalypt forests is it forest destruction or renewal?
A video at http://www.forestrytas.com.au/topics/2011/05/a-job-well-done shows a forest coupe in the Styx valley that was clearfelled and then regenerated to supply the pulp and paper mill at Boyer and is now identified as High Conservation Value.

In an attempt to gain even more forest to lock up, the green groups commissioned still wild still threatened to map high conservation value forest. This map was released in 2010 and identified 570,000 ha of HCV. They even included a coupe in the Picton Valley, that had been photographed and used in a postcard campaign to demand forest lockups in the 1990s. Compare The image at http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/ae542e/ae542e18.jpg , a coupe harvested in 1989 and subject to regeneration burning, to the image in 2003
and http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/ae542e/ae542e1a.jpg

No wonder the protest group thought it was high conservation value as you can see all the understory species growing back under the canopy of the young eucalypts. Its a pity that they failed to check on the job done by our professional foresters and timber workers.

Perhaps the tourism millionaires could plan a tourism venture going around the regenerated forest. Or better still why not promote 3 million ha of conservation reserves Tasmania already has that cover 44% of its 6.8 million ha land mass.

These reseves already include 1.4 million hectares of native forest, a million ha of which is 'ancient pristine awe inspiring' old growth. The reserve system also contains 2 million ha of the High quality wilderness rated 12 out of 20 on the National wilderness Scale. If Tasmania can't attract a viable tourist industry on these reserves how will the millionaires attract tourists to come to a woodchip mill.
Posted by cinders, Monday, 25 July 2011 7:39:11 PM
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Now Sarnian,

Given your tendency to be selective when in cherry orchards, I fear the stat you mention for the year 2000 might have been a high point. Surely after your slinging the accusation of 'spinner' about, you would take pains to avoid the opportunity for others to accuse you of being disingenuous?

Also, the figure is bald when considered in isolation. It lacks the context required to assess the sustainability of the forest system, or to rescue your plummeting credibility.

So, please provide the long term trend of annual chip exports from Tasmania, and from what area of forest estate. Then we can START to assess your claim, by using some likely productivity estimates.

Until you do, we'll know you just go for the big juicy ones.

BTW thrilled to hear you can grade sawlogs on trucks. Doubtless you know that professional log graders (metaphorically, ‘angels’) would be very reluctant to sign a log docket for a load graded thus.
Posted by hugoagogo, Tuesday, 26 July 2011 6:29:55 AM
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