Hartz Peak - 26th January 2009 (55)

Hartz Peak - 26th January 2009 (55)

What better way to spend a public holiday - climbing Hartz Peak. Mind you, it was fairly busy up there. The carpark was basically full (largely because of the bizarre group angle parking of some large 4WDs - thanks guys), and so I made a new car space which didn't inconvenience anyone who can drive a 1.8m-wide car through a 4m-wide space....OK, so I've got over the fact that so many people were cluttering up MY mountain. ;-) The top of the mountain was crowded too (you know, like Mt Everest has become - they even do ER doccos there now...), but in fact, the noise has been worse with a pack of HWC prats before now, so it was alright. Everyone was happy and suitably appreciative of the delightful views. The funniest moment was when someone told me I was "nearly there" when I was half way up the steep slope above Ladies Tarn. Cheers mate!

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The view was actually quite hazy, but attractive nonetheless. Anyway, what better way to spend a day off work than wandering about a Tasmanian alpine plateau. I noted that there is this forestry coupe high up below Mt Riveaux. They really shouldn't be harvesting big trees here. The valley in between Hartz and the rest of SW Tas is largely unprotected, but quite inappropriately splits off some of the most magnificent forests in the world and makes them available for turning into toilet paper...

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It was interesting to see the Waratah still out. I've been slack (oh, and busy) and haven't been up here for a few months, but there are still some Waratah plants with good displays and healthy flowers, which make a colourful splash on the alpine heath. In fact there were quite a lot of flowers out, and I'll post a separate blog with some more pictures.

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Just finally, I love the view of Federation Peak past this boulder, and I think it would be best at sunrise, so I'll have to be there one day to catch it. This is high up on the western side of Hartz Peak. This same boulder makes a good foreground for shots of Hartz Lake.

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New view from the Hartz Mountains

New view from the Hartz Mountains

I know we have to process the wood we harvest as much as possible before we export it, but do we have to build factories to do it where they can be seen from the most accessible summit in the World Heritage Area? We try to encourage tourists to come here, then we stick a new factory on the edge of the WHA where its buildings and especially its smoke emissions are visible from the Hartz Mountains. Bonus! This is Newood, formerly Southwood (note the url, they changed the name because of the original bad publicity. The website seems to be a little out of date), built near the Huon River to process timber from the nearby forests in various ways. It's supposed to have a wood-burning power plant eventually, I bet that'll make it even more attractive. As it is, it stands out very clearly against the backdrop of forests.

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Missing Link Found!!

Missing Link Found!!

A good many years ago, when John Cleary was in the Tasmanian Parliament, there was talk of building a road between the Huon and Derwent Valleys. It wasn't the first time, nor the last. There were already "roads" of sorts over the back of the Wellington Range, but they were mainly passable to trail bikes and 4WDs with good clearance. You can walk up Jeffreys Track for example, towards White Timber Mountain, but it would be very difficult in a 4-wheeled vehicle.

What they said they were looking for was a tourist link road to enable tourists to visit the Huon and then drive behind the Wellington Range into the Derwent Valley. I recently came across John Cleary's promotional pamphlet during a tidy-up. I've reproduced it here, so you can read what they intended.

You can see that one of the alternatives in Option 3 was a Judbury - Plenty Link. I think though, that the paragraph which reads "...any final decision will hinge on the Federal Minister's agreement for any route through the World Heritage Area" implies that the route across the corner of the Snowy Range was what they intended. I could point out that as well as linking two beautiful tourist destinations, it would also have linked the Huon/Weld forestry area with that in the Styx/Florentine very directly.

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At the time, there was a deal of concern expressed that while the stated intention was to build a tourist road, the real intention was to build roads to enable greater extraction of trees. Of course, our politicians acted as if they were shocked that we could doubt their motives.

Now, what many people don't know is that the Judbury - Plenty alternative in Option 3 was built a good many years ago, but some years after the time of this pamphlet and attendant debate. It isn't actually drawn in on the map in the pamphlet, despite being canvassed in the text, and I'm not sure why. (As I wrote that, I became suspicious. Terrible isn't it?) Out past Judbury, there's a road heading up the hill. It has often had a locked gate on it, but must be receiving forestry traffic again now. The photo shows the sign saying the road is closed to traffic.

The road was built as part of the connection between the Weld/Huon/Picton, Southwood (Also see here and here.) and New Norfolk. There was talk that it cost $4m. I found out about it because a friend was engaged on surveying the route. It was built with almost no publicity, and initially was open to traffic. I drove over it once to Plenty. It was a very good quality road, well built, but for lengthy stretches was made with quite coarse gravel. I suspect it would have worried the tyres of small cars. It's only there for forestry operations, not tourism. Surprise, surprise.

Anyway, the road isn't shown in the roads in the data held at the List and presented on the net. It isn't shown in Google maps as a road. It is however clearly visible in the Google Maps Satellite view.

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View Larger Map

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All in all, I'd like to know how the government justifies spending millions of dollars building a road over a high range of hills, but doesn't make it available to benefit the tourism that was the original motive for such a road. The existence of the road has been carefully ignored by government, if not actively concealed, since it was built. A letter to the editor of The Mercury just a few years ago, demanding that such a road be built, stood uncorrected by government. It hasn't been included in official maps, and is closed to the public. In fact it's just part of your hidden subsidy to the forest industry, and you can't use it.

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I think this hill has mange

I think this hill has mange

This unattractive sight is clearly visible just to the east of Hartz now (Map Ref approx 55GDN860125, Waterloo map). I think it's what Forestry Tasmania calls an "aggregated retention" coupe, also referred to as "clump clear-felling". Whatever they were trying to do here, I think it didn't work. As reported by the Greens, the subsequent burns appear to destroy some or all of the supposedly retained areas. Anyway, this area looks worse than if it had just been clearfelled. Looks like a tragic waste actually. To quote from Tim Morris' media release:

"Mr Morris explained that the ‘clump clearfelling’ system, or aggregated retention was first flagged by Forestry Tasmania a few years ago. It was objected to by the conservation movement as a soft-sell to pacify growing community concern without really changing the destructive forestry practices in the State’s native forests. Also the island clumps themselves would be logged in a later second stage of the regime."

Good one!

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Woodchip-pile-cam - 18th and 19th Feb 2008

Woodchip-pile-cam - 18th and 19th Feb 2008

Our forests continue to go overseas from Burnie, including whole logs. Now if Gunns manage to "replace" woodchip exports with pulp production in the Tamar Valley, how many of these woodchips will travel to Bell Bay rather than getting exported from here? Careful, it's a trick question.

Saul Eslake says in various places and forums:

"Tasmania's future cannot possibly lie predominantly in the volume production of essentially unprocessed commodities at lower prices than competitors with better access to; larger and cheaper resources of labour and capital, and to markets (by virtue of proximity of membership of trade blocs). But, instead depends on its capacity to produce and market highly differentiated goods and services, embodying a relatively high intellectual content, for which customers are willing to pay premium prices."

Read the Worrying Conjunction post to get some more background.

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The operation at Burnie goes day and night. I noticed the woodchip pile either steaming or smoking. Must be hot in there. Maybe the two bulldozers were trying to uncover the hotspot? Wouldn't be a good look for it all to go up in smoke.

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A worrying conjunction

A worrying conjunction

Several reports recently suggest Tasmania faces a bleak future:

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The Mercury reported on 31 January that Access Economics' investment forecast for Tasmania shows we are reliant on large projects.:

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Tasmanian Times reported that a respected economist (in a report completed at the behest of the Wilderness Society) has suggested the median likely result of building the pulp mill will be a $300 million dollar loss for Tasmania. This doesn't include the impenetrable web of govenrment subsidies propping up the whole forest industry, because he assumes these will continue whether or not the mill goes ahead.

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Meanwhile The Australian reports that the Australian Government view is that "TASMANIA'S forest industry faces a bleak outlook", in a report prepared for the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and only released publicly after an FOI request.

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Just to remind you, as we go back in time, Naomi Edwards wrote a clear warning about this to the RPDC and anyone else who would listen. Of course the government did a quick and dirty assessment of the benefits of the pulpmill, ignoring the costs and risks, thus demonstrating appalling mis-management of Tasmania and its future. Sure, the pulpmill might be of benefit to the shareholders of Gunns (although it appears the ANZ are still considering that), and maybe to a small number of remaining forestry employees. The overall value to Tasmania has to be seriously in doubt. Don't expect any coherent rebuttal of these reports from the government.

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Maybe it's time for us to go back and look at some other options for Tasmania's future. They can't be any worse can they. The Greens Forest Transition Strategy (brief version here, Greens' forest site here) might be worth a look.

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Oh, and Erica strikes again

Oh, and Erica strikes again

The Letters page today in the Mercury featured a letter from Pete Roberts responding to Erica Betts' (and isn't that link just so beautifully out of date) letter last Wednesday, 9th January. Erica continues to imply that the main aim of logging in Tasmania is to supply sawn timber. This is deceitful and ignorant. As I showed last year, Erica thinks woodchips are made from the little bits that result from turning round logs into square boards, and he even immortalised his ignorance by writing to The Age. They've kindly preserved a copy of his letter online...Mmmm, makes you wonder how he can walk and breathe at the same time really.

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Woodchip-pile-cam

Woodchip-pile-cam

Still there. I wonder if these pine sawlogs will end up as pine chips after the pulpmill is built. Well maybe better we turn them into pulp here, then someone else can turn them into toilet paper, rather than we export them for people to build houses out of...

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No comment

No comment

Of course, the pulpmill will replace woodchip exports...NOT. These liars have led everyone on. It seems that you had to fully understand the RFA, in detail, to deduce that Gunns can now export just as many woodchips as ever, AND turn about as much living, breathing, Tasmanian forest into pulp (not even paper). They can't sell the woodchips, but they THINK they can sell the pulp, to approximately double the cut of Tasmanian forests. It all still ends up wiping bottoms somewhere else.

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On another matter, I see Bryan Green doesn't use computers or email. Oh great, this wacker purported to "help" lead our state. Heaven help us.

"The court has heard that Mr Green did not use computers or emails and relied on Mr Nicholson to receive correspondence relating to his portfolios."

So we'll all trust his judgment on forestry matters won't we?

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Burnie Wharf, still full of logs

Burnie Wharf, still full of logs

So we continue to export pine logs from Burnie.

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Burnie Wharf

Burnie Wharf

Logs still leaving, still not employing anyone in Tasmania. Why? Can't we afford to buy our own logs now? How third-world!

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Gunns want to buy Auspine!

Gunns want to buy Auspine!

Well, after John Gay told Andrew Jakab he wasn't really welcome in Tasmania, I suppose you could have expected something like this. A reasonable person would ask whether the Premier knew of this plan, and when it became apparent to him - for example, was it some while after Auspine lost their contract, and just before he swung into action to provide them with publicly-subsidised pine resources? Let's wait to see valuable pine sawlogs start to disappear into Gunns' chippers...

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Forestry's belated Easter gift to Tasmanians

Forestry's belated Easter gift to Tasmanians

Easter Monday was a beautiful day, sunny, clear, warm, breezy. No work! Wonderful, let's go out, do a bit of easy bushwalking with the kids. But wouldn't you know it, FT have taken the opportunity to burn several coupes in the southern forests.

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The view from Port Huon was pretty ordinary - what was a nice sunny day further north, was dull and smoke-ravaged south of Geeveston. The stiff breeze was blowing the smoke eastwards, and the sky looked awful.

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The Hartz Mountains, normally making an attractive view on the skyline were largely hidden by billowing smoke.

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Along the Arve Rd towards the Arve River, a coupe was burning behind a fairly narrow band of trees. The smoke was very dense, and when the topmost branches of one of the tallest trees in this photo caught alight, we decided to leave, unsure where the blaze might head next. I'm not sure the trees surrounding "regeneration burns" are supposed to catch alight. It didn't seem to get out of control, but this is very close to the "storm damage" site where a previous burn did get out of control.

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And here is Isaac's shot of the fire in the top of the trees. Well done Isaac. This is quite a zoom, sorry for the quality!

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Difficulty finding a consultant?

Difficulty finding a consultant?

Two of the main contenders for the pulpmill assessment job haven't applied for it. BECA Amec and AF Consulting have turned down the opportunity. They no doubt have their stated reasons, (see also the Mercury story and the one in the Examiner) but quite frankly, this one's a potential minefield for a consultant who cares about their reputation. Our government has shown that it will stop at nothing to approve this mill, and attempt to trash the reputation of anyone who gets in their way. What room might there be for a consultant to submit a report that recommends the mill NOT proceed? The Greens provided part of the wording of the consultants brief, showing how open to abuse of process this could be if the managers of the consultancy within government or the public service demand certain approaches from the consultant. This is a good "opportunity" for these consultants to be too busy doing something else.

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We knew this too...

We knew this too...

Erica's finally come clean. The federal government has decided to break its promise to protect forests in the Florentine and Styx valleys, made during the last election campaign - acually they broke it a while ago and have been claiming they hadn't. Obviously it was a non-core promise. Trees don't vote, but workers do, so they've decided they would "save jobs" instead of saving old-growth forests. Now that's explicable at least, but I'm not sure these jobs are going to be saved in the long term, and the trees certainly aren't, once they're gone. On this matter, the government promised to do very little, and has done even less. Wilderness Society media release here.

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Leadership

Leadership

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you

But make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,

If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Just think about whether you could apply much of this to those who purport to "lead" us. Hats off to those who have spoken the truth, in difficult circumstances, about the pulpmill approval bill, men or otherwise, the sentiments hold true. Read Terry Martin's speech. He'd win a seat in Denison above almost all other punters.

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Hey Paula...

Hey Paula...

Sorry, here's the diagram. [Copyright Tandra Vale 2007 (Copyfreely protocol) - Copy freely but not for sale or profit]

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Several burns today provide another FT tourist attraction

Several burns today provide another FT tourist attraction

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Regeneration burns west and southwest of Huonville today provided mushroom clouds, some roughage for your respiration and these sunset photos. Go FT, looking after our tourist trade.

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Weasel Words ease pulpmill approval

Weasel Words ease pulpmill approval

My comments on the Bill (1.9MB!) and Consultant's Brief are here.

All in all, this is a carefully crafted set of words. If I was writing a consultants brief, and wished to influence the range of outcomes the consultant could come up with, then this is how I would write it. Bear in mind that the consultant will provide a draft report, and whoever is tasked with considering the draft can make sure the consultant’s interpretation of the brief is “appropriate”. The question might be whether a consultant will want to undermine their good name by acquiescing to requests to tailor the report and use the latitude allowed by the loose language of the Act and brief.

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Protest at Parliament today

Protest at Parliament today

Great protest today at P(p)arliament (I'm inclined to write that without a capital right now). Peter Cundall, Vica Bailey, Peg Putt and all were very convincing. No hysteria, just a lot of cool, calm, rational people who want to see democracy and due process deal with the pulpmill on its merits, of which it appears to have few. We are the national laughing stock at the moment. Very sad. Some pictures below. Tomorrow we will win the cricket, but have we lost something more important?

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Alex Wadsley raises some interesting legal points about the pulpmill approval bill here, which I hope will garner some cogent responses. The bill (PDF, 1.93MB) is a tacky, cheap, rushed, piece of s--t. Anyone who votes for this should be ashamed of themselves. When will we see some honest public servants emerge to tell us some useful truths behind all this? We can hope. They can squirm. Worms!

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