praxidice

I may have misread your post about polluting the Great Lake - you referred to a paper mill, and did not mention Gunns by name.

However, this is immaterial really because there is no paper mill located anywhere near the Great Lake let alone polluting it, so where you've got this from is I suspect from misinterpreting anti-pulpmill campaigns which as I said in my post are rarely if ever questioned by the media and are promoting misinfo0rmation to fit an unwarranted agenda of environmental armageddon. Your other comment about eco-vandals in the Tarkine further exemplifies this.

MWPOYNTER

When I visited the area a few years back as part of whats best described as a due diligence exercise, locals (whom I have no reason to believe had an axe to grind) took me to a very suss operation that was spewing vast quantities of whatever evil foamy looking liquid directly into the Great Lake. I can't recall a company name or even if there was one visible (mind you the direction I was taken didn't involve the front gate) nevertheless I believe it was described as a paper mill by the locals. Just the sight was a major disincentive to live within cooee of the place. There were other issues I discovered that convinced me Tasmania wasn't what I'd expected, although the other matters were development related and not as confronting as the Great Lake experience. I haven't had reason to re-visit Tasmania in years so I haven't a clue as to what has happened in the Great Lakes area since. The development situation was the ultimate deal-breaker in the final wash-up although the other left a very bad impression. The information I've received re the Tarkine came from a different source I have every reason to regard as impeccable.

praxidice

Your Great Lake experience is perplexing. Having worked up there and still a regular visitor to nearby areas, I can assure you that there is not and has never been a paper mill or any other industrial development in that area. Perhaps you are mistaking what you saw in some other place with the Great Lake, that's all I can think of.

Re the Tarkine, I agree that there are campaigns against mining that are painting an erroneous picture of environmental disaster on a supposedly grandiose scale. You can choose to believe it, but the reality is that mining has occurred in the region on a small scale for 70 - 100 years (as I understand it). The campaigners don't like it and are determined that it goes away, so grossly over-stating the threat is sadly to be expected.

MWPOYNTER

Whatever, any state that allows what I saw certainly doesn't deserve to be thought of as environmentally responsible.

I'm aware of the old mining operations and agree they should, subject to reasonable scrutiny, be allowed to continue, the issue I alluded to was logging. Whilst I haven't seen it personally, I've been provided with photos, videos & maps by folk in whom I have every confidence. The story they tell isn't a pretty one.

My objective with the potential tree-change was move to a location that would never be subject to either enviromental vandalism or 'development'. By development I mean having housing estates pop up around me. In the central highlands towns I checked out, I discovered old subdivisions that were still 'on the books' with a surprising number of new homes. That didn't suit my agenda, consequently I switched my sights elsewhere. Tasmania proved to be a disappointment, I'd expected to find a near pristine wilderness with only a few tiny towns amid old growth forest & folk with a predominantly tree-hugger mentality ... maybe I had unrealistic expectations however I ended up finding almost exactly what I wanted elsewhere.