BY GEOFF FRANCIS
HOBART Environmental activists have chalked up a significant victory by forcing the state government to announce on June 5 that it is shelving its plans for a deep water port at Electrona in south-east Tasmania. The port was to have been used for the export of woodchips from the Southwood woodchip mill that Forestry Tasmania is proposing to build in the Huon Valley.
Deputy Premier Paul Lennon admits that his government has buckled in the face of massive public opposition. This opposition is based on a potential threat to water quality and marine life, as well as the future of the aquaculture industry.
Forestry Tasmania's response has to been to assert (in advance of any planning outcome being determined) that its woodchip mill and power station project will definitely go ahead, come what may. To that end, it has stepped up its already massive TV advertising campaign.
The decision to abandon the Electrona port has given heart to anti-Southwood campaigners. Not only has it indicated that the campaign is capable of winning victories, without a local port, the woodchip mill and power station becomes even less economically viable.
Other major absurdities in the scheme are still being revealed. For example, it has been estimated that for up to three months each year, the power station will need to take more water out of the Huon River than actually flows through it at that point.
Campaigners are not allowing themselves to become complacent and are planning to redouble their efforts. Taking Electrona out of the equation may be no more than a ruse by Lennon to defuse opposition to the main project, explained Alex Bainbridge of the Democratic Socialist Party. If Southwood goes ahead, Electrona could be back on the government's agenda once the state elections are out of the way. The only way to be sure of stopping the port at Electrona is to kill off the proposed woodchip mill and power station at Southwood.
Premier Jim Bacon makes no secret of his friendship with the woodchip industry. Under his government, woodchipping has grown to record proportions (despite a continuing loss of jobs). Bacon is vocal in his determination to continue expanding the industry, despite overwhelming public opposition, as reflected in the government's own Tasmania Together forums.
[Geoff Francis is a resident of the Huon Valley and campaigner against the Southwood project.]