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Canberra approves disputed mill

In this image provided by The Wilderness Society, a 70m long banner is laid out on Bondi Beach in Sydney on Wednesday by protesters against a proposed pulp mill on the island state of Tasmania. The protesters were concerned about the mill's potential emissions and wood consumption. PHOTO: AP

The Australian government approved yesterday plans for a controversial multibillion-dollar pulp mill in Tasmania despite objections it could ruin one of the country's most pristine environments.

Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the proposed A$2 billion (US$1.7 billion) mill would have to meet stringent environmental conditions, but activists said the approval was a "tragedy" for the Tasmanian environment.

"These are the toughest environmental conditions ever imposed on a pulp mill anywhere in the world," Turnbull told reporters, saying he had tightened the conditions the timber firm behind the mill, Gunns, must meet.

The tighter conditions included a lower level of dioxins that can be discharged into local waterways.

Businesses are eager for the 1,600 jobs the mill will create, but environmentalists including the Australian Conservation Foundation criticized the move to approve the project.

"The conditions do not stop Tasmania's old-growth forests being logged to feed the mill, with the accompanying destruction of biodiversity," Lindsay Hesketh, a campaigner for the foundation, said in a statement.

Hesketh said the mill would emit 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year and dump toxic effluent into the Bass Strait marine environment.

Green groups have threatened to campaign against Turnbull in his electorate in Sydney with an election due in Australia before the end of the year.

Gunns said the mill represented the largest ever investment in the Australian timber industry.

"Despite the misinformation, dishonesty and indeed threats from the project's opponents, Mr Turnbull has upheld due process and approved the project," Gunns executive chairman John Gay said.

The Tasmanian state government fast-tracked the proposed mill earlier this year, introducing legislation to approve it at a state level after the firm complained the public consultation process was taking too long.
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