We are pleased to announce Bob McMahaon is the 2012 Tasmanian Times Tasmanian Of The Year

Tasmanian Times always supported TAP and our struggle against the pulp mill. Tasmanian Times provides a forum for all of us. We are more than happy to be hosting this year's 'Tasmanian Of The Year Award'. Our guests for the evening are the Tasmanian Times Editor Lindsay Tuffin and previous Tasmanian Of The Year winner Dr Alison Bleaney. Our special guest speaker is Dr Warwick Raverty. Rosevears Waterfront Tavern 215 Rosevears Drive  6.30 for 7.00pm.

September 2012                                              

Gunns has no pulse. They have been in a stock trading halt for so long their share price shows a flat line. Where are their loyal friends now? People like  Giddings, Hodgman, The Examiner, Southern Cross Television, the TCCI and the other rabid pulp mill zealots.

Abseiling at TAP's 6th birthday party June 3 2012 - The high-flying ladies of TAP - Photo Gallery

Gunns are trying to raise $400 million which is as much as they are losing EVERY YEAR. They are $800 million in debt and they want to make bleached Kraft pulp that is declining in demand by 8% a year. Workers in Brazil making pulp earn 25% of what Australian workers get. Gunns want to make electricity by burning trees although Tasmania now has an electricity glut.

The campaign against the 'Richard Chandler Capital Corporation' investing in the corrupt pulp mill had only just started. Now Greg L'Estrange has blamed the Greens for Gunns failing 'due diligence'. It's about time L'Estrange blamed himself for once. He's not polluting Bass Strait or the Tamar Valley to help Tasmania. If Gunns finds another financier the same thing will happen.

Mercury February 8 2012                       Advocate February 15 2012

DECEMBER 12 2011- LAUNCESTON CITY COUNCIL REJECTS PECK'S MOTION TO SUPPORT THE PULP MILL

Gunns have again failed to meet their legislated permit deadline to commence constructio..

On Sunday August 7 2011 Prime Minister Gillard and Premier Giddings signed an agreement in the Country Club Casino Launceston, that is supposed to bring peace to Tasmania's bitter forest disputes. TAP was the only group represented there on that wintry morning. TAP also 'black-flagged' the 2011 State Labor Conference on Saturday August 6. We joined nurses, teachers, police and other anti-mill groups including CODE outside the State Labor Conference.

On Tuesday June 7 TAP 'black-flagged' the opening of the $70 million East Tamar Highway. TAP outnumbered David O'Byrne and his group of officials at the opening. When the TAP banner 'Gunns Says Thanks' arrived the officials went into a state of visible shock. This 'log truck highway' has always been about Gunns. Most of the water pipeline for their now abandoned mill travels in its corridor. Still unpaid for by Gunns.  

On Wed May 25 TAP blackflagged Parliament House. The Greens presented the PMAA 2007 repeal bill inside at 4pm. Another succesful TAP action that shows the Tasmanian politicians who really runs Tasmania. We do! Predictably the LibLabs voted against the Grens motion and predictably they displayed their support for a non existant project. Does it get any weirder than that?

          WATCH ABCANONFUL'S VIDEO OF THE RALLY ON YOUTUBE          

Community Groups TAP and TPEHN join in condemning the ‘forest principle agreement’ because it is very specifically tied to the delivery of the Gunns' Tamar Valley pulp mill.

As reported in The Australian yesterday, Bill Kelty said ‘green’ groups must strike a deal on the Gunns' Tamar Valley pulp mill or miss out on permanent protection of 565,000 hectares of native forest.

“There you have it. This is what the ‘roundtable’ negotiations have been about all along,” commented Dr Alison Bleaney of TPEHN.

“From the point of view of Gunns and the Labor Party, the forest ‘roundtable’ was about delivering the Long Reach pulp mill. From the ENGO’s side it was about delivering protection to native forest. They were the two glittering prizes up for grabs and to pretend otherwise is misleading,” said TAP spokesperson Bob McMahon.

“In order for both sides to get what they wanted it was important to exclude the community first and foremost. Why? Because it was expected that the community would be opposed to any trade-off of the sort so bluntly expressed by Kelty”, continued McMahon.

“After all, the community was going to have to pay the price for the sort of deal the forest industry negotiators had in mind. The community had to be sidelined and kept in the dark. Thus the secrecy. We were the sacrifice."

“That the blatantly undemocratic, rigged and secret ‘roundtable’ negotiations and the ‘forest principles’ that resulted (including in principle support for plantations and ‘a pulp mill’) received the enthusiastic support of the ALP is no surprise."

“That the Greens have also been enthusiastic supporters of the undemocratic negotiations as constituted, and the ‘forest principles’ that resulted from the illegitimate process, is deeply distressing for the community and incredibly damaging to the Greens themselves,” said McMahon.

“Kelty has made it abundantly clear that the success of the Gunns/ALP pulp mill is dependent on the signing of the ‘forest principles agreement’,” said Dr. Bleaney.

“Therefore, both TAP and TPEHN, demand that The Wilderness Society, Environment Tasmania and Australian Conservation Foundation either refuse to sign the agreement as it exists or insist that the Gunns Tamar Valley pulp mill be specifically excluded from the agreement as a principle."

“We expect many other community groups will join us in making this demand”.

“It is not too late for the Greens to redeem themselves either”, confirmed Bob McMahon. “They will have to stop the doublethink and unequivocally withdraw their support for the ‘forest principles’ as they stand and the illegitimate roundtable process which produced them. It is not good enough for the Greens to say they do not support the Tamar Valley pulp mill while supporting a process designed from the very beginning to deliver that very same pulp mill.

“Dr Bleaney and I want to put this bizarre chapter of Tasmanian history into context. This is a monumental issue of social justice. Should the environment groups sign up to the ‘forest principles’ deal as it currently exists it will be viewed as a great betrayal of current and future generations of Tasmanians, whose social, economic and environmental horizons will be severely diminished and restricted by the demands Gunns mill will place on our basic resources of land and water and of the huge public subsidies the mill will need in order to compete against cheaper producers in developing countries.

For the Tamar Valley, Bass Strait and all Tasmanians...

STOP THE TAMAR VALLEY PULP MILL!!!  Start time 11.30am.

 
Join Peter Cundall, Richard Flanagan, Kim Booth and spokespeople from anti-pulp mill groups at a peaceful community protest at the Batman Bridge Reserve.

We are gathering to assert our continued opposition to this mill for the following reasons:

1.      Toxic effluent in Bass Strait
2.      Threats to the livelihood and lifestyle of thousands of Tamar Valley residents
3.      Fresh water usage
4.      Possible future use of native forests
5.      The draconian and undemocratic Section 11 of the Pulp Mill Assessment Act.
6.      Lack of an independent, transparent assessment of a “critically non-compliant” mill
7.      Lack of public hearings and community consultation
8.      A complete lack of faith in Gunns.

Time:  11.30 start on Sunday 20th March.