Review of the Wellington Park Management Plan
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december number the tasmanian conservationist caring for Tasmania since 1968 2011 324 Review of the Wellington Park Management Plan 3 Director’s Report 1 TCT councillor Ralph Rallings 1 Supreme court action regarding the Tamar Valley pulp mill 2 Changes to Tasmania’s native forest clearing policy 4 Tasmanian weed alert network 7 Tasmania’s Forest Practices Code 8 Breakthrough on Southern Ocean MPAs 10 Tasmania: Australia’s food bowl 11 Off-road vehicle management in the Arthur Pieman Conservation Area 12 ‘Working’ for the Tasmanian Conservation Trust 13 Aquaculture legislation amendment 14 Let’s do nothting and see if that works 15 Seven Mile Beach Peninsula golf course and resort – is this a repeat of Ralphs Bay? 17 Action on roadkill 18 Plastic swirl 19 BA (Hons) Literature Member of Society of Editors (Tas), Tasmanian Writers’ Centre, Society of Authors EDITING AND PROOFREADING, SPECIALISING IN CONSER reports • management plans • newsletters • books VatioN ISSUES p (03) 6234 6569 e [email protected] At Monotone we support environment conservation and have committed ourselves to passing Level 2 Sustainable Green Print, then proceeding to International Standard 14001. Key areas of change implemented at Monotone will be to reduce our Mt Welllington Management Plan. land-fill waste dramatically, recycle and re-use as a Photos: cover and inside cover: Toby Rowallan. priority and use environment friendly consumables. Refer to article on page 3. Disclaimer The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the tasmanian conservation trust inc (TCT). Advice to TCT members making electronic payments for membership/donations Copying Members making electronic payments directly into TCT bank account must include their name. We permit photocopying of all orginal material in the tasmanian conservationist. Two payments have been received with only the advice of ‘periodic payment’ and I’m Feel free to make use of our news and articles, but unable to allocate the payments. They are: please acknowledge the source. 15/6/2011 $90 3 year membership 30/6/2011 $35 1 year membership Contributions If you have made a payment to the TCT in June, We encourage readers to submit articles of interest for would you check your payment dates, and if publication. Articles should preferably be short (up to you believe that either of these payments relate 600 words) and well illustrated. Please forward copy to your membership, would you please contact on CD or USB stick or by email if possible. Guidelines for the TCT office on 6234 3552. contributors are available from the TCT office or online at www.tct.org.au. Email version of newsletter Advertising The tasmanian conservationist is now available We accept advertising of products and services that in PDF format for members who would prefer an may be of interest to our readers. Our rates are GST electronic version. inclusive: Please send us an email at tct.administration@gmail. com including your name and home address and the email address you would like us to use, and we 1 issue 2 issues 3 issues will email the tasmanian conservationist to you. full page $250 $450 $600 Details half page $150 $280 $400 Design template: Kelly Eijdenberg, Poco People quarter page $110 $200 $280 Proofreading: Janice Bird Circulation: 375 DIRECTOR’s REPOrt Whether you believe the Forests Statement of So, viewed in this context, the FSoP and the IGA are Principles (FSoP) process is dead or not, it is hard giving the state government the excuse to implement to see that it is playing a significant role other than policies that will increase the damage to forests which keeping participating conservation groups occupied are not protected in reserves. It is time to let go of in meaningless discussions with industry groups and the pretence that the FSoP process can continue to preventing them from being more proactive. deliver on a broader forest conservation agenda and for all conservation groups to return to campaigning. Almost all the important forest conservation issues in Tasmania are now being dealt with (with varying We are glad to see that the Wilderness Society is now success) through other processes and largely by taking action against the pulp mill, as well as the TCT groups and individuals who are not involved with the and the local Tamar Valley community. The Society’s FSoP. overt opposition to the pulp mill at the recent Gunns AGM is a very welcome change from its more passive The major forest conservation issues in Tasmania other stance over the last year. Even more important is that than the IGA and the leading ENGO conservation TWS is re-entering the campaign against the financing advocates dealing with them can be summarised as: of the pulp mill. The level of commitment and scale • clearing and conversion of native forests: TCT of resources it is willing to commit is unclear but we wish to encourage TWS because without its previous • Forest Practices Code: TCT campaigns to stop ANZ bankrolling the project, the • Tamar Valley pulp mill: TCT, TWS and Tamar Valley pulp mill may have already been built. community groups Peter McGlone • Tarkine National Park: Tarkine National Coalition • Triabunna woodchip mill: Alec Marr • Market campaigns against irresponsible forestry Introducing TCT Councillor Ralph Rallings companies: Huon Valley Environment Centre and TCT Councillor Ralph Rallings is a geotechnical Peg Putt engineer with 50 years’ professional experience in Queensland, South Australia, Malaysia and Tasmania. • Reforming of Forestry Tasmania: vacant Geotechnical engineering, as Ralph has practised • Carbon value of forests: vacant it, is concerned with understanding the various agents, tectonic, air and water that have caused In relation to all of these issues the three key protest the landscape to develop its current shape and groups – Huon Valley Environment Centre, Code properties. It is also concerned with understanding Green and Still Wild Still Threatened – are keeping the the potential impact of a proposed development public, industry and governments aware of the forest on the landscape, soils, surface destruction that is still occurring, as well as targeting and subsurface water regimes Gunns’s pulp mill. and in providing solutions that In this edition of the Tasmanian Conservationist, we minimise negative impacts. Ralph have an article about the TCT’s Supreme Court case was a member of the Australian challenging the legality of the Tamar Valley pulp mill, Geomechanics Society’s Task Force the vital need to recommence the review of the on Landslide Risk Management. Forest Practices Code and the disastrous changes to Ralph is acquainted with areas of the state government’s forest clearing policy. soil behaviour that are commonly Although the FSoP never addressed the crucial considered to be within the province issue of biodiversity conservation on private land, of a soil scientist. This understanding of this has not stopped the government from moving soil-water physical phenomena and in the opposite direction. It is now looking very likely the role of salts arose from research that Bryan Green thinks that privately owned forests into piping failures of earth dams, an can be hammered harder then ever now that the early involvement in irrigation design Intergovernments Agreement (IGA) is likely to reserve and a continuing interest in these many of the iconic forest areas. In the minister’s areas. mind the conservation priorities will be dealt with As the engineering manager of the Materials and if areas such as the Styx, Weld, Picton, Florentine Research section of the then Main Roads Department etc are protected. Similarly, it appears that Forestry for 22 years, Ralph has an in-depth knowledge of road Tasmania has convinced the minister that the Forest pavements and of the factors that determine their Practices Code review must be held up until the IGA performance. is finalised. This will give FT the flexibility to weaken forestry practices if it believes this is needed to He has been a member of the Tasmanian maintain wood supplies. Conservation Trust since 1976. tasmanian conservationist December 2011 1 SUPREME COUrt actiON REGARDING THE taMAR VALLEY PULP MILL On 25 October 2011 the Tasmanian Conservation Trust commenced proceedings in the Tasmanian Supreme Court in Hobart seeking a determination that the Tamar Valley pulp mill permit has lapsed as the pulp mill was not A summary of the TCT’s statement of claims for the substantially commenced before midnight on 30 court: August 2011. a) To seek a determination that the Tamar Valley It is a matter of the utmost public interest for all Pulp Mill permit has lapsed as the pulp mill was not Tasmanians, and in particular the people of the substantially commenced before midnight on 30 Tamar Valley, that the legal status of the permit be August 2011. resolved. We are advised only a court can determine b) To seek a determination that the dam works this. permits under the Water Management Act lapsed As the state’s oldest conservation organisation we at midnight on 30 August 2011. see it as our duty to resolve this important matter. c) To seek a determination that the Assessment Why other conservation groups who undoubtedly Committee for Dam Construction has no power to have standing did not take this case is a question grant a new permit under the Water Management that numerous people have asked us. We truly do not Act for dam works for the purpose of constructing know. and/or operating the pulp mill. We believe we have strong arguments that substantial commencement was not achieved If the TCT wins the Supreme Court case, does this by the permit deadline of midnight, 30 August mean the pulp mill is dead? 2011. Our argument can be put very simply: if an The short answer is ‘maybe’: it is definitely not average person visited the site they would say that guaranteed.