Gunn's Limited Destroys Tasmanian Forests and Animals

Corruption Allows Clear-Cut Logging of the Oldest Growth Rainforest in the World, Wholesale Slaughter of Native Animals

Gunns, Ltd. the world's largest wood chip company, is destroying the old growth rain forests of Tasmania and grinding them up into paper pulp. These aren't the garden variety rain forest trees that clutter the Amazon, but rather 85 meters tall Eucalyptus "regnans" (the "king of the gum tree."). The Eucalyptus are magnificent trees that live for over 450 years, and yet over 75% of Tasmanian old-growth forests have been felled. Why? In order to make woodchips for shipment to Asian markets for conversion to junk mailers, disposable plates, copy paper and toilet paper (only one of these items is a necessity, but they all fall under the category of "crap.").

PULP MILL RISING?
As of 2008, the new focus of the Gunn plundering saga is the company's proposed Tamar Valley pulp mill, which is meeting extreme resistance from environmentalist and just plain folks. In the context of Gunn's environmental track record (see next column), concerns about the proposed mill’s effluent discharge, potential impacts on the marine environment, marine industries, coastal amenities, and human health do not seem out of place. Although the pulp mill was approved by the Federal Environment Minister, many groups remain skeptical. It's like when BP tells us they can drill in the Arctic with no environmental impact. Ooops.

See the destruction of Tasmania from space.
Grimly humorous video about Gunns hold on the Tasmanian state.
And please spend some time with our friends at Water S-O-S Tasmania.
Another consequence of illegal logging.
How Gunn's Ltd handles protesters.

ABOVE: Evolution of an ecosystem.

PISSING OFF THE PLATYPUS...

In the process of clear felling and otherwise vandalising Tasmania's native forests, Gunn's Ltd. is also ridding the island of such pests as the wallabies, possums, wombats, quolls, Tasmanian devils and wedge-tailed eagles that trespass on its plantations. The company uses poison bait known as 1080 to wipe out these unwelcome intruders. Gunns also destroy and or prevent the re-growth of vegetation with herbicidal poisons distributed by aerial spraying (helicopter or other) or tractor wholesale spraying.

Gunns’ demand for sawlogs and veneer-logs rams new roads and logging into previously untouched valleys. This is destroying wilderness and oldgrowth forests in famous areas such as the South-West wilderness such as the Styx Valley of the Giants, the Great Western Tiers, the Tarkine, the North-East Highlands/ Demand for big, straight trees for sawlogs and veneer is also driving logging operations on to steep slopes, especially in the Styx Valley and North-East Highlands. This is carried out using ‘cable logging’ – a means of clearing slopes that would otherwise be too steep to log. Guess what happens when you clear a slope?

AND INTIMIDATING THE CITIZENRY It is a fundamental operating principle of the Catastrophe Map editorial board that (contrary to the belief of most Americans), Government is the handmaiden of the corporate world. In the hands of "business friendly" regimes such as the Bush League, regulatory agencies - the EPA for example - actually work against laws passed by Congress and the best interests of the people. This appears to be the case in Australia/Tasmania as well.

It has also become common practice for deep pocket corporations to use the courts to intimidate anyone with the temerity to challenge their plundering activities. On December 14, 2004, 20 environmental activists, organisations and concerned citizens were issued a 216 page writ by the Tasmanian logging company Gunns Ltd. Defendants include The Wilderness Society, Greens politicians Bob Brown and Peg Putt, the Huon Valley Environment Centre, two independent film makers and some random outspoken citizens. Gunns sued for a combined AU$6.3 million for actions it claims has damaged its business and reputation.

In 2005, the Supreme Court of Victoria, dismissed an amended statement of claim lodged by the company and served on defendants. However, the judge in the case granted the company leave to lodge a third version of their statement of claim with the court no later than August 15, 2005. In Otober 2006. the court awarded costs in favour of the respondents related to dismissing striking out the third version of the statement of claim. In November 2006, Gunns dropped the case against Helen Gee, Peter Pullinger and Doctors for Forests. In December 2006, it abandoned the claim against Greens MPs Bob Brown and Peg Putt.

For further updates, visit this site. And don't say anything bad about the criminals that run Gunns.

Will this change with the fall of the Howard government? With change afoot in the U.S, and Bush on the way out, one question is whether these democratic governments have the will to undo the damage done by their predecesors. The other question is whether the damage done to Australia as a whole by a combination of honest mistakes and unrestrained greed can be reversed?

GUNNS AND HOSES

Gunns, Ltd. has a history of strong-arming the government and citizenry in pursuit of trees and profits. Gunns operations have resulted in convictions and fines for breaching the Forest Practices Code and causing major environmental damage to a Tasman Peninsula waterway[xiii]. Out-of-control Napalm burns started by Forestry Tasmania and Gunns have incinerated areas of national parks, World Heritage sites and private land, and are intense enough to create massive mushroom clouds typically associated only with atomic weapons. Under the legal protection of special exemptions from national and state laws granted by the government’s Regional Forest Agreement, Gunns has routinely ordered the destruction of pristine areas identified for permanent protection by the United Nations World Heritage Bureau. Under current Tasmanian law, the company is not required to file environmental impact statements.

tasmanian devil as Robin Gray

The revolving door between Gunns and the government includes former Tasmanian Premier Robin Gray who currently sits on the company’s board of directors. Gunns collusion with Forestry Tasmania has essentially eliminated citizen oversight and has led to a breakdown of democracy in the state. Despite being Tasmania’s largest landowner, less the 15 percent of the company’s record profits stay in Australia’s poorest state. Gunns largest customers are Japanese paper companies Nippon, Oji, and Daio and major recipients from products of its old-growth woodchips with US markets include Fuji-Xerox, Ricoh and Canon.

Gray unsuccessfully campaigned to dam the Franklin River, in the South Weast Tasmanian wilderness area, log the Lemonthyme forest adjoining the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park and other areas now in the Western Tasmania Wilderness World Heritage Area.

In 1989, Gunns Chairman Edmund Rouse was jailed for bribery after he attempted to pay Labor MP Jim Cox to prevent the formation of a Labor-Green Accord government in Tasmania, which might have posed a potential threat to Gunns.

Other members of the Gunns Ltd. board of directors have suspicious entries on their CVs when it comes to environmental issues. David McQuestin, who was charged and pleaded guilty to breaches of the Tasmanian Companies Code in relation to the 1989 parliamentary bribery affair. The conviction and sentence imposed by the Magistrate were quashed on appeal, although McQuestin was also criticized by the Royal Commission investigating the scandal. David McQuestin is still on the board of Gunns, making him one of the longest serving directors of a major company in Australia.

Return to the Deforestation Map.

More information on Indonesian deforestation.