Their smoke, my ersatz depression

You’d think it’d be common knowledge, even in this civilisational backwater called Tasmania, that fires put carbon into the air and so add to global warming and climate change. But that doesn’t stop Forestry Tasmania and Gunns Limited undertaking 200 planned burnoffs in Tasmania each autumn – ostensibly to germinate seeds in the ground after the chainsaws, excavators and skidders have done their work. These aren’t minor burns, mind. Their smoke plumes resemble nuclear mushroom clouds. The burns not only load the air with carbon, their particulates reduce visibility and, more importantly, aggravate lung diseases like asthma and emphysema. But does that stop the forces of darkness (pun intended)? Don’t answer that – it’s a rhetorical question. They even have a website, don’tcha know [1]. Recently some environmental activists highlighted Forestry Tasmania’s arrogant, woeful and arguably negligent disregard for the public and planetary good. Here’s the background [2, 3], and here’s their creative response [4]. Will it do any good? Oops, that’s another rhetorical question. I find it all so depressing. Which reminds me of this wonderful article in the 1 March New Yorker, titled ‘Head Case” Can psychiatry be a science? [5] The author writes that the US National Institute of Mental Health estimates over 17M Americans suffer from depression. And he quotes a psychologist who thinks this number’s ridiculous — not because people aren’t depressed, but because in most cases their depression’s not a mental illness but rather a sane response to a crazy world. Yessir.

farmdoc's blog post number 697

Here are some footnotes to yesterday’s post:

In 1995 Sweetheart Vivienne and I walked Hinchinbrook Island’s Thorsborne Trail, and we were shown over the proposed Port Hinchinbrook site by (now 87 year old) Margaret Thorsborne who was then President of the FoH. So my observations on both counts are personal.

Ultimately Williams prevailed over the FoH, and Port Hinchinbrook was built. I don’t know how much Williams’s White Shoe Brigade membership and SLAPP writs contributed to this result. But I doubt they were unhelpful.

Keith Williams sold Port Hinchinbrook in 2006. He had a stroke in 2008. Now 80 years old, he’s disabled and lives on the Gold Coast in South Queensland.

I don’t know if Port Hinchinbrook’s been successful and what its environmental impact is. The new owner’s planning expansion.

FoH is defunct. The ongoing battle against the environmental excesses of Port Hinchinbrook (aka Club Mud) is being fought by the Alliance to Save Hinchinbrook [ASH].

The Grand Prix Corp’s threats of SLAPP writs were empty; the writs never eventuated.

In January 2010 Gunns withdrew the last of its 1995 Gunns20 SLAPP litigation – without even one minute of substantive (i.e. non-procedural) courtroom action.

I wrote here of vandalism at the house of Gunns Chairman John Gay (pictured) Last Monday a man pleaded guilty to it. During the hearing, Gay said he was frightened and sick of harassment at his house. How dare he – the instigator of 20 SLAPP writs aiming to frighten and harass lawful opponents – have the temerity to portray himself as an underdog. (Given the continuing southerly progress of Gunns share price, the last laugh won’t be Gay’s.)

I last wore white shoes in 1985 – when I last played tennis.

farmdoc's blog post number 696

Today’s is the first of two linked posts:

The White Shoe Brigade was a group of boisterous, arrogant and Government-advantaged Queensland property developers in the 1990s. The rationale of this contemptuous name’s explained here. One of the Brigade’s higher profile members was Keith Williams (pictured). After successfully developing Sea World and then Hamilton Island, Williams proposed a large ‘integrated resort’ development called Port Hinchinbrook, near Cardwell in North Queensland – adjacent to the wondrous tropical wilderness of Hinchinbrook Island, and whose construction would annihilate acres of mangroves. So predictably Williams’s proposal met with staunch opposition from a large group of concerned citizens (including Sweetheart Vivienne and me) – the Friends of Hinchinbrook [FoH]. Williams responded to his opponents not with true concern and respectful dialogue; but rather (in 1994) with writs against FoH’s leaders.

Thus was my introduction to SLAPP (i.e. Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation).

SLAPP is a form of bullying and intimidation which aims to stifle free speech and pubic protest by initiating a lengthy and expensive legal process in which there’s a massive disparity of financial (and other) resources between the two sides.

A year or two later, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation threatened Save Albert Park’s leaders with SLAPP writs.

Then in 2005 Gunns Limited issued SLAPP writs against 20 opponents – the Gunns20 – of its State-sanctioned environmental plundering.

(Continued tomorrow.)

farmdoc's blog post number 686

It’s 13 days to the Tasmanian state election. And the Party’s are in a bidding frenzy to see who can throw the most money – taxpayers’ money, my money – at the logging industry. The ALP opened with A$6½M, only to be trumped by the Liberals’ A$7M. It mystifies me why loggers are a government-protected species. Other industries – e.g. clothing, textiles and footwear – have been decimated or killed outright courtesy of the policies of one government or other. But not the logging industry. Oh no. Logging industry leaders seem protected too. John Gay (pictured) is the chairman, and until recently the CEO too, of Gunns Limited – Tasmania’s and Australia’s biggest timber company. Last 8 December Gay sold 3.4M of his Gunns shares for A$3.1M. Then on 22 February Gunns reported a net profit after tax for the second half of 2009 of A$420,000 – a mere 3% of market estimates of A$12M+, and a 98¾% fall from the 2008 equivalent of A$33.6M. Its share price promptly free-fell by 35%. I don’t know if the profit/share price plummet caused Gay’s share sale – which was disclosed and attributed to a financial commitment he had to meet. On 24 February the Australian Stock Exchange asked Gunns when it first became aware of the 98¾% profit fall; but it didn’t ask when Gay first became aware of it. And it’s not investigating Gay’s sale at all let alone as insider trading. This was Gay’s first share sale in the company for 35 years. Ho hum.

farmdoc's blog post number 601

Here’s this week’s compendium. This week…
1. Gunns Limited’s chairman John Gay has offloaded 3.4M (i.e. 20%) of his Gunns shares [1]. Hardly a gesture of confidence when Gunns is still seeking finance for its controversial A$2.5B pulp mill project.
2. I read this joke [2]: “Johnnie.” “Yes teacher.” “If there are twenty sheep in a field, and one gets out through a hole in the fence, how many sheep are left in the field?” “None, teacher.” “Johnnie, there are still nineteen sheep left in the field. Obviously you don't know arithmetic.” “Sorry, teacher, but I do know arithmetic. Obviously you don't know sheep.” Yep.
3. the day before President Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Oslo University named Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ‘Dictator of the Year’ for his achievements in ‘inspiring hostility among nations, increasing human suffering’. There were 11 candidates; Khamenei received over 72% of the 4145 votes [3]. A worthy winner indeed.
4. I read that Israel has the highest density of tech start-ups in the world. Israel’s venture capital dollars per person are 2.5 times the US’s, 30 times Europe’s, 80 times India’s and 300 times China’s. Israel has more companies on NASDAQ than any country except US; and more than all of Europe, Japan, Korea, India, and China combined [4]. A surprise, yet not a surprise.
5. a medical journal paper titled: ‘Age-associated cognitive decline’ calls such decline ‘an important human experience which differs in extent between individuals’. And it says the determinants of the differences in age-related cognitive decline are not fully understood…(but)…There is growing appreciation that factors affecting general bodily ageing also influence cognitive functions in old age [5]. The more research done on cognitive decline and dementia, the more likely scientific breakthroughs will be.
6. the Journal of the American Medical Association published a paper concluding that among women with breast cancer, soy food was significantly associated with decreased risk of death and recurrence[6]. How fascinating.
7. the Age reported that in 2008-9, during the GFC, the profits of Australian businesses soared to record highs. Corporate profits continued to increase – up to a record 27.7% of national income [7]. Why have corporate dividends fallen, then?
8. I was lucky enough to have several Skype conversations with darling Indigo. She has such a wicked sense of humour.
Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc's Blog readers, a wonderful week.

farmdoc's blog post number 548

Have you noticed? When you unknowingly touch a hot thing, your hand jerks away from it – instantaneously, and before you realise what’s happened. This is called a reflex response. It’s mediated in the spinal cord. That is, your brain’s not involved – because involving it’d take extra time. It’s like when the doctor taps your kneecap tendon with a plessor (pictured) and your foot jerks. Ten days ago, someone put a smoke bomb on the doorstep of Gunns Limited Chairman, John Gay. And graffitied his fence. Three days later, ex Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon wrote this op-ed piece in the Examiner, blaming anti pulp mill protesters for the ‘disgraceful vandalism’. The same day, the police announced the vandalism was a drunken prank unrelated to the mill protest. Two days ago, a suicide bomber in Iran killed 42 people – including five senior Revolutionary Guard Corps officers. It occurred in a region long plagued by Sunni insurgents who’ve previously targeted Iranian soldiers and Revolutionary Guards. The same day, and self evidently before the attack was investigated, the Iranian state media, the Iranian military, and Iranian President Ahmadinejad all blamed ‘terrorists backed by the Great Satan America and its ally Britain’. The US and Britain have condemned the attack and denied any involvement. The moral in both cases, and beyond? When responses are fast, until proven otherwise consider them reflexes – which go through no-one’s brain.

farmdoc's blog post number 469

Plagiarism. Given my suspicious nature and my interest in forensics, it’s unsurprising that plagiarism fascinates me. A little about why people do it; more about how it’s discovered. I guess that pre-computer it mainly came to light by chance. However now it’s merely a matter of putting a phrase into a Google search box. And so to Tony Burke (pictured). Never heard of him? Well he’s the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Last 24 June he issued a Ministerial statement on preparing our forest industries for the future. I’d expect a ‘Ministerial statement’ – even from the Forestry Minister – to be impartial and independent. Others are less trusting and more sceptical than I. I don’t know, but they discovered this:

Ministerial statement 2009: ‘Construction of the mill and flow-on investment would create some 8,000 direct and indirect jobs spread across the trades and other areas.’

Gunns statement 2008: ‘Construction of the Pulp Mill and flow-on investment will create some 8,000 direct and indirect jobs spread across the trades and other areas.’

So Minister Burke’s been caught copying and pasting Gunns’ promotional material for his Ministerial statement. And Getup says many ‘facts’ he borrowed from Gunns are outdated, discredited or unsubstantiated. There are calls for him to explain [1, 2, 3] and resign [4, 5]. The plagiarist should do both. If not, the Prime Minister should sack him.

farmdoc's blog post number 355

Today I write of buckets. I love them. I don’t exactly know why. Perhaps because their design’s so simple and they so wonderfully perform their purpose. Currently my favourite bucket (pictured) is a 20-litre stainless steel one. It's a beauty. I’ve had it a few years. I’m ashamed to reveal I bought it in a Launceston hardware store owned by Australia’s (and, I think, the world’s) most rapacious woodchipping company. Yes, Gunns Limited. This bucket’s usual location is on the gravel outside my Mole Creek back door. The rainwater it collects there is used to water our native Tasmanian trees in their pots nearby, or to wash my Peugeot. I love that bucket because it’s a bucket, and also because I love stainless steel. Stainless steel is a steel alloy with a minimum 10% chromium content. It doesn’t stain, corrode, or rust as easily as ordinary steel (it ‘stains less’). But it isn’t totally stain-proof. The corrosion resistance of iron-chromium alloys was first recognized in 1821. But back to buckets. I’m enchanted by the fact that only a full bucket can overflow. Extrapolating this fact to human psychology produces what I call ‘the bucket principle’. I’m pleased to say that most of the time my psychological bucket overflows.

farmdoc's blog post number 281

Today is Australia Day. Veteran aboriginal activist and lawyer Mick Dodson is the 2009 Australian of the Year. That’s good. At least he’s not a sportsman or an entertainer. Peter Cundall was a finalist, but he was never going to win because he’s vocally opposed to Gunns’ Tasmanian pulp mill. As I expected, Prime Minister Rudd’s Australia Day speech was dispassionate, measured and boring. (I feel ashamed I voted for him.) Oh for an Aussie Obama. Today 536 Australians received national recognition awards – most for services to the Labor Party and the government, or for doing the jobs they’re paid to do. And, naturally, women were under-represented. On this national public holiday, my countrymen may have flown the occasional Australian flag, but certainly we barbecued and alcoholised, watched tennis and cricket either there or electronically, and generally acted like the yobbos and yahoos we are. Sweetheart Vivienne, my moral compass, often marvels at how lucky we were to have been born in Australia compared with say Nigeria, Sudan, Iran, or anywhere else which is not blessed with our democratic political system, freedom, natural resources, prosperity and climate. And, as usual, she’s right. So today I didn’t attend any Australia Day events, I didn’t listen to any speeches, and I didn’t watch any sport. But I did reflect on how blessed I am, that I’m a citizen of this nation.

farmdoc's blog post number 265

Last 25 October I wrote of a southern Tasmanian forest protest by the group Still Wild Still Threatened [SWST]. Further to the same protest, last 7 November I wrote of Thoreau, Gandhi, King, and the sanctity of civil disobedience and non-violent direct action. Last 16 December, in response to the Rudd government’s pathetic 5% greenhouse gas reduction target, 15 SWST activists shut down Gunns’ Triabunna woodchip mill for over seven hours to highlight the link between old growth forest logging and climate change. The seven activists who attached themselves to a conveyor and other machinery were arrested and charged with trespass. The next day, Tasmanian government minister Llewellyn pathetically labelled the activists ‘terrorists’. The activists called on the minister for an apology which they never received. Now Gunns, that pathetic specimen of corporate thuggery, has sued 13 of the 15 SWST activists for damages (I don’t know what happened to the other two), and sought an injunction to prevent the defendants entering its property again. Tasmania Police, that pathetic specimen of colonial law enforcement, gave to Gunns the names of all the SWST people who took part in the Triabunna action – including, stone the crows, those who were neither charged nor arrested. No question this breaches the privacy, and infringes the rights, of citizens. Welcome to Tasmania, people. Stay tuned – this story ain’t finished yet.

farmdoc's blog post number 175

Last Thursday the headline writers had a field day: ‘Not in Burke’s Backyard’ and ‘Don Burke becomes ‘Gunn for hire’’ The story is that Gunns Limited has hired Don Burke – an erstwhile celebrity gardener – as ‘environmental consultant’ to its proposed northern Tasmania pulp mill. It’s a feeble, transparent ploy by Gunns’ spin doctors, because another celebrity gardener – Peter Cundall – is an eloquent, heartfelt and unpaid opponent of the mill. Burke is chairman of the Australian Environment Foundation which operates from the address of the right-wing think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, and is commingled with it as well as Timber Communities Australia. The AEF is arguably a greenwash organisation: according to its website it’s pro GMO, it’s open to nuclear energy, it promotes climate change scepticism, it’s pro pulp mill of course, and it opposes peak environment groups. Very nasty, Donny boy. Cundall’s a man of impeccable integrity; Burke's a hired gun. Burke said he approached Gunns for the job, and he’s received assurances from Gunns’ chairman John Gay that his role will be independent of the company. Oh yes, you read right. ‘He asked me to monitor what’s going on, and work in the best interests as a green person,’ Burke said. But he doesn’t say in whose best interests; and he’s as green as horse shit. Stay tuned, folks.

farmdoc's blog post number 45

Bell Bay, about 100km north-east of Mole Creek, is where Gunns Limited, Australia’s biggest logging company, with the connivance of the Tasmanian Government, plans to build a A$2b pulp mill. This project’s triple bottom line score is 0/3: at best and with massive public subsidies it will be marginally profitable; it will be environmentally disastrous (including adding 2% to Australia’s greenhouse gases); and it is deeply socially divisive. Last week Gunns’ long-term bank, the ANZ, facing an ongoing campaign of organised public opposition, announced it would not finance the mill. The ANZ’s decision, whether on financial, environmental or social grounds, surprised me. However sweetheart Vivienne, a wise woman, has long maintained that the response to global warming will be led by insurance companies – after their profits are eroded by more frequent and severe weather events – and, adjunctively, banks. The emerging evidence confirms her prescience. Last Monday I learned that Westpac – the only one of Australia’s four major banks whose shares we own – became the first Australian bank to sign the Equator Principles thereby agreeing not to fund projects that endanger communities or the environment, and the Global Compact CEO Water Mandate to tackle the emerging global water crisis. Why did Westpac sign these two documents? I don’t know. I don’t care. It has, and from now it is accountable.