Rather than pulping 400 year old native forest to produce toilet paper why doesn't Tasmanian agriculture grow more hemp/cannabis/marijuana for paper production?

There are concerns about dioxins used in the paper mill processing and inaccurate costings of the project which ignore the government subsidies.

The problem affects the whole globe: with tonnes of chemicals being pumped into Bass Strait each year from the mill (ostensibly it will disperse), wildlife as far away as Antarctica will be affected:

"Penguin colonies as secondary sources of contamination with persistent organic pollutants":

http://www.rsc.org/publishing/journals/EM/article.asp?doi=B708103K

"The present study demonstrates, for the first time, that several POPs are present in elevated concentrations in an environment frequented by a non-migratory species (Adélie penguins) that spends its entire life in the Antarctic. Levels of POPs, such as p,p-DDE, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), chlordanes (CHLs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), were 10 to 100-fold higher in soil samples from penguin colonies than from reference areas. This significant difference is likely related to local penguin activity, such as a higher abundance of guano and the presence of bird carcasses. This hypothesis is also supported by a higher percentage of persistent congeners (PCB 99, 118, 138 and 153) in the soil from the colonies compared to the reference areas. This profile of PCB congeners closely matched profiles seen in penguin eggs or penguin blood."

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Alan

The greatest myth of all is that we can go on building huge dinosaurs with an appetite for forests. These dinosaurs carry parasites who hitch a free ride on the monsters.

Some of our earliest ancestors were parasites, which goes a long way to explaining our extreme predisposition towards unhindered growth.

As parasites we were conceived, and as parasites we will miserably die when we kill off the parent organism. Does a tick really bother to learn much about the elephant?

The pulp mill is yesterday's obsession, agonised over by yesterday's men, who can't get enough of tomorrow's fake currency. And all for the sake of stuffing Japanese landfill with used copier-paper!

It's the end for this kind of stupid enterprise - no more! No More!

The minister will conclude that there will be no environmental impact and the mill will be approved.

The millions of tons of timber removed from ancient ecosytems which the mill will need to consume will not be seen as an environmental impact.

Mate, a nice piece of propaganda - so nice that those swine Bolt and Akerman are quoting from it. But what about the truth? For every study or report you quote there are others that conflict with your biased and self-interested view. The pulp mill making money for Tasmania? The smart money is on the pulp mill COSTING the Tassie and Australian taxpayer more money than it will claw back through taxes. The pulp mill supporting poor, small, helpless rural communities? Wrong - the pulp mill is going to cost more jobs than it will create.

I think you will find that most of us right-minded Tasmanians are FOR the pulp mill - but not in the Tamar Valley. What you are saying by denying the alternative Hampshire site is that you, as a forester, dont give a toss about the local communities of the Valley, or the communities of Hampshire who want this mill located there.

You represent a few thousand foresters who don't care about anyone else but themselves, let alone what is good for Tasmania.

A case in point. My family has been in the forestry industry of Tasmania for more than a hundred years. We have included some champion axemen and some foresters of the year. One of these foresters of the year, a man who has worked in the industry all of his life, has recently moved away from the area my family have lived in for 130 years. He is no greenie or latte-sipping inner city pinko. He has moved away because he is disgusted with the torched earth policies of Gunns and the effect its has had on his local area.

He is not the only one.

Tasmania is now fully owned by a corporation, a small cadre of fat men made rich by scalping the Tassie taxpayer, and conning and intimidating the cowed federal parties into turning a blind eye to their abuses of power, for the sake of a few votes.

You are a disgrace to the CFMEU southern cross flag that I have proudly worn all of my life.

Hi Alan,
Lots of factual information. Thanks.
It is a pity that there is so much emotion and politics in this issue.