Stop myths about Tasmania's mill

The Greens succeeded. It brought about the resignation of panel member Warwick Raverty, although in doing so he disputed their allegations via his letter to the editor published in The Mercury newspaper on January 10. "I have decided to withdraw as a member, not because I agree with the Greens' submission. I do so only because of the importance of protecting the panel's assessment process and avoiding my membership of the panel becoming an issue (that) causes delays or disruptions," he said.

The Greens continued their attack on the RPDC process hoping to have it become an unworkable, never-ending process. Their strategy succeeded. They then moved to the new assessment process established by the State Government.

The State Government should be applauded for its courage in getting the project back on track. Ditto the state Opposition and legislative councillors for supporting the process. It would have been easy for the Opposition to oppose for opposition's sake, as a few armchair academics were calling for.

The fear campaign against the proposed mill reached new heights with a claim that it would cause all the snowcaps on the South Island of New Zealand to melt and Launceston would be deprived of drinking water. But the truth is that the proposed pulp mill will consume less than 2 per cent of the annual flows from the Trevallyn Dam, the source of Launceston's water supply.

Thankfully, following no less than four public comment opportunities, the project finally was assessed against the established guidelines (recognised as being the toughest in the world). That assessment proved to be robust, with only eight matters requiring improvement via special permits and conditions. State parliament has voted to approve these strict permits and conditions.

There was a last-minute, desperate attempt by the green movement in trotting out a few very well-heeled Sydney celebrities presenting themselves as experts on all things about pulp mills. This included a Telstra board member who has also overseen the impending demise of 257 Telstra jobs in Launceston. This same celebrity seems unwilling to meet timber-dependent families but is happy to meet the Greens.

The final decision lies with federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull in assessing the project against relevant sections of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. This has included three opportunities for public comment. Turnbull's department has approved the project, but it appears this is not good enough; he is seeking further advice from the commonwealth's Chief Scientist.

After so much scrutiny, Tasmania's timber-dependent families are looking for a timely decision from the commonwealth as we don't wish to see the project become a political football that will benefit only its political green opponents.