[acropolite (Phil)]

Just returned from a protest rally in Launceston over the proposed pulp mill to be sited in the Tamar Valley. In case any of you are not aware, the Tasmanian state government has basically dumped democracy, due process and the law to pass a bill which will allow the building of a pulp mill in the most environmentally unsound location within our state. The Tamar valley is the proposed site for the mill and already has the worst air quality in the country due to the inversion layer characteristics of the valley. The bill passed a few days ago in parliament allows for assesment of the proposal by a consultant of the government's choice, rather than evaluation by the governments "independant" body the RPDC. 3000 people turned out to demonstrate against the building of this mill and the associated abuse of parliamentary power. Highlight of the rally was a speech by Peter Cundall of Gardening Australia fame, who gave up his time today on his 80th birthday to speak against this process to the crowd. Shortly after Peter taking the stage the crowd burst in to a spontaneous song of "Happy birthday to you", followed by a standing ovation on completion of his speech.