Pollies pledge pulp mill North Tasmania

"Local surfers and members of the Surfrider Foundation in Northern Tasmania have asked their Labour and Liberal election candidates to fill out a quick survey relating to a recent public "pledge" they made to support a "clean" Pulp Mill in Northern Tasmania.

A proposed Pulp Mill in the Tamar Valley, North of Launceston plans to dump up to 30 billion litres of effluent annually into the ocean at 5 Mile Bluff, Bass Straight.

The marine environment of 5 Mile Bluff, or "Cow Head" as it is known by local surfers, is one of the States Best surfing breaks, and could be potentially threatened by pollution from the Pulp Mill.

Local surfers have met with project officer Les Baker at Gunns Ltd to express their concerns, and have offered to conduct an independent analysis of internal reports soon to be released by Gunns Ltd on the impact of the Mill to the local marine environment and amenities in the area.

In their recent pledge, local politicians defined "clean" as a "world's best practice Pulp Mill" rather than their expectation the Mill will have "no harmful effects" to the marine environment or local amenities.

Local branch president Peter Whish-Wilson said local surfers are "sick of the spin" and "lack of critical discussion" in this three week election period about expectations relating to what constitutes a "clean" Pulp Mill.

"This survey simply asks the pollies to clarify their current understanding on a number of simple questions relating to marine pollution, we would encourage every local surfer to get in touch with their MP's and ask them to take the 2 minutes to fill it out".

Results, if any, will be publicised 2 days prior to the election.

For more information please call 0410 754 728