Friday 1st May 2009
TAP Into a Better Tasmania is concerned that the extreme claims by Gunns, CFMEU and Timber Communities Australia about the planned pulp mill are threatening thousands of existing Tasmanian jobs in fine food production, wineries, agriculture, tourism and fishing industries during impending hard times.
“The planned pulp mill will cost the State economy up to $2.1billion and 2088 jobs lost in tourism alone, according to the Business Round Table Report,” said TAP Into a Better Tasmania spokesman Tony Saddington.
“Then there are the risks to health and other industries plus government subsidies to Gunns,” he continued.
The Report by independent economists (www.lec.org.au) goes on to say that overall, “the pulp mill project may cause an economic loss to the State of Tasmania.”
Mr Saddington said, “No sane business operator would listen to only one side of a proposal and Tasmanians are smarter than that”.
“The Roundtable report is the only public independent examination of all the costs, benefits and risks of Gunns proposal,” Mr Saddington continued.
Gunns’ own Integrated Impact Statement is “critically deficient in 8 key areas” (RPDC) and the government’s consultant report (ITS Global) is a one-sided benefits-only study.
Mr Saddington said, “Gunns mill proposal threatens thousands of existing jobs during impending hard times. The planned pulp mill not only threatens our local ‘clean green’ reputation abroad, but employment prospects across the state.
Rather than being a job creator, Gunns is a jobs shedder and the Labor government has refused to help those log truck drivers and timber harvesters in distress with a bail-out package debated in Parliament a few months ago.
Scott Maclean of the CFMEU Forestry division and Eva Down of Timber Communities Australia are failing to do their job of looking after workers by negotiating with their employer and the State Government.
Further information
Spokesman for TAP Into a Better Tasmania, Tony Saddington
