Tasmanian pulp mill gets green light
Updated
The Federal Government has given final environmental approval for a new pulp mill in northern Tasmania.
Timber company Gunns will be allowed to build the controversial $2.5 billion project in the Tamar Valley, but with tougher environmental conditions.
Approving the final permits, Environment Minister Tony Burke said the level of chlorine discharge has been set at a lower level than Gunns applied for and the mill will only be allowed to use plantation timber.
"No native forestry will be allowed to be legally used through this mill," Mr Burke said.
"This is a substantial variation and these two changes make the proposal a very different one that was first presented to my department back in 2007."
Mr Burke said a standard provision that would have allowed the company to apply to have the conditions changed has been struck out.
"There will now be a condition that any variation will only be considered if an equivalent or better environmental outcome."
"From today, there are no steps backwards."
He said there are now tougher environmental conditions which are not just a "matter of trust".
"They are conditions for the development to go ahead".
The tougher rules were imposed after an request from Gunns for the Government to lay down stricter conditions.
"The officials in my department know of no occasion where this has occurred before," Mr Burke said.
"They sought tougher environmental conditions and I gave them tougher environmental conditions.
"Don't come back wanting to soften those tougher environmental conditions. They are now the only way the project goes ahead."
"Given the circumstances and the history, and some of the community concerns as well, I wanted to make sure that putting in what was regarded as a standard clause did not allow anyone to believe that there could be backwards steps in the environmental footprint from today."
"Whereas the standard clause allows companies to come back at certain times to seek a variation under the Act, there will now be a condition, condition 49, that any variation will only be considered if it involves an equivalent or better environmental outcome."
Discharge condition
Mr Burke has also included tougher limits on any discharge from the mill.
"It will now be a condition of the project as a whole that the discharge can only occur through what's known as elemental chlorine-free light technology," he said.
"This is a much tougher environmental condition on the discharge. It one that has been demanded by environment groups.
"It is something which Gunns has been saying they were willing to do. They will now have to do it as a condition of the development."
Gunns still has one more major hurdle to clear; the company is yet to announce a financial backer for the mill.
First posted
Over 3000 protesters, dressed in black, marched the streets of , Australia on Saturday to show their opposition to the construction of a pulp mill by . This follows the release of a survey, which showed that 40 percent of Tasmanians oppose the project. 

The mill has previously been opposed by the Launceston Environment Centre LEC and the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Medical Association AMA, due to concerns about negative environmental and social impacts of liquid waste and air pollution. The LEC claims that there will be eight deaths per year from increased air pollution, and the AMA has already expressed concerns about Launcestons' current air quality, 

"Launceston has one of the worst air qualities within Australia," according to a written statement the AMA made in 2006. The statement also attacks the quality of modelling conducted by Gunns during the assessment of the mill. It says that  scale particulates are "closely associated with the adverse health effects of particle air pollution", but were not measured in the assessment process. 

The pulp mill was green-lighted by environment minister  in March, although no reassessments of air quality have been undertaken by Gunns. The company has stated that more work needs to be done to convince Tasmanians that air quality will not be reduced by the project.