good & bad news

The good news is the Tasmanian Treasure speaking in parliament yesterday said he was optimistic about the silica refinery in the state's north west and that the interest by Wacker was still alive and that he has since engaged in discussions with another proponent who is also interested in developing a silica plant on the north -west coast.

The bad news is The Tasmanian Greens warned that any silica proposal for the north-west region will be examined rigorously, and would not receive their support should it impact on the Tarkine region.

Greens Mining spokesperson Paul OHalloran MP and Member for Braddon said that the Tarkine region should be protected as a National Park, and any proposal must be closely evaluated to ensure that it will not damage the integrity of this key natural asset of the north-west.

The Greens will examine any silica mining proposal rigorously, as any trade-off damage to the Tarkine region will not be acceptable, Mr OHalloran said.

Despite repeated requests of the Treasurer last year to rule out that any silica mining proposals would need access to native forests to obtain the required carbon for processing purposes, that reassurance was never given, so we remain concerned that this is a potential requirement.

The Tarkine is the jewel of the north-west, it must be protected as such, and developments outside its boundaries must be compatible with its intrinsic natural and cultural values.

Damage to the Tarkine region also undermines the economic contribution that it makes to the tourism sector and local economies, and it is this potential that we need to be tapping into in a sustainable manner.

Any proposal which involves the logging and burning of the Tarkines rainforest will not get the support of the Tasmanian Greens and we have stated our policy position on the public record very clearly since this first arose last year, Mr OHalloran said.