AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION IN LONDON TARGETED FOR PROTEST THIS FRIDAY.


At 3.30 P.M. this Friday, 16th November, at the Australian High Commission in the Strand, there will be a protest at the Australain Governments decision to build a damaging and controvertial new pulp mill in Northern Tasmania.


As Australians in London come to the High Commission to lodge their votes for the current Australian Federal Elections, protesters hope to be able to highlight what is happening down under so that people can make an informed choice at the ballot box.


This proposed "World's best practice" mill will consume up to 6 million tons of high conservation value ancient old growth forest a year to feed the mill. The plant will emit 10 million tons of CO2 a year and discharge 64,000 tons of toxic effluent into the sea every day.


Tasmania only has 13% of its old growth forest left due to industrial scale forestry operations, particularly in the last 50 years. Licences have already been issued to reduce this remnant to 6%. Sadly, what is happening in Tasmania will once again reduce the world's ability to fight climate change.


The Tasmania State Government has fudged the necessary environmental impact studies to the point where it has not even included the destruction of the forests and when the mill is built, the ensuing degredation of air and water quality into it's equation. The highly populated valley where the mill will be situated already has the worst air quality in Australia and Tasmania has the highest rate of asthma nationally. This mill will make things much worse.


Endangered species legislation has been routinely ignored by the Government in Tasmania when it comes to forestry. The endangered giant Tasmanian Wedge Tailed Eagle, amongst others has suffered constant assault from forestry and is tipped to become extinct soon in the North of the island where the pulp mill is to be built.








Martin Wyness
marty1111 {at} btinternet.com