Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

I inform the honourable senator that overwhelmingly the people of Tasmania are in favour of downstream processing of their raw materials. The people of Tasmania do not want to see, and they have seen it time and time again, a campaign of misinformation against this particular pulp mill on the basis that its creation would make the snow caps of New Zealand melt, increase police corruption, increase prostitution and other social ills, and that all this could be overcome if it were all of a sudden to become a chlorine-free pulp mill. All the ills and evils would be overcome. That is where the Australian Greens have come unstuck with the Tasmanian community.

What the Greens have done—quite rightly, I must say—in recent times is latch on to the dissatisfaction of the Tasmanian population with the way that Premier Lennon has handled this situation, especially with the RPDC. We as a government have been on the record time and time again to indicate that we regret that which has occurred in Tasmania but acknowledge that the Premier and the state parliament have to deal with those issues that fall within their bailiwick as we as an Australian government are dealing with those matters that fall within our bailiwick. What I can say to the Tasmanian people and the Australian people is this: that which we needed to investigate and look at has not required any change of legislation on our part and we are continuing on with business as usual. The Tasmanian people, and I dare say the Australian people, have to make a decision about this pulp mill.

Not one single extra tree is going to be harvested as a result of this pulp mill. The only thing that will occur is that the woodchips will be either processed in Tasmania or, using fossil fuels, shipped to a pulp mill in Japan, dirtier than the one that would be established in Tasmania. Using more fossil fuels, the material will then be shipped back to Tasmania to be made into paper. Now, most Australians who have common sense and who have the environment at heart say that if it is not going to cost an extra tree, if you can reduce fossil fuels in cartage and if you can get a cleaner mill, then that is an environmental trifecta that deserves support, if the pulp mill meets the strict environmental guidelines, which has always been the important caveat that we as an Australian government have put on this project.