| Thursday 6 September
2007
PULP MILL - CONCERNS OF PROPERTY OWNERS
Mr FINCH (Question) - My question is to the honourable Leader
and it is a three-part question.
Firstly, is the Minister for Planning aware of the concerns
of Daryl and Donna Griffiths who own one of the properties
across the Tamar on the Rowella peninsula in direct line of
sight of the proposed pulp mill?
Secondly, why has the minister not responded to a letter sent
to him on 18 July outlining concerns regarding the impact
on Mr and Mrs Griffiths' property and others neighbouring
theirs on the Rowella peninsula and maintaining that the problem
should be considered during the drafting of final permit conditions
for the mill?
Thirdly, what does the Minister for Planning intend to do
to ensure that the Griffiths and any others affected by the
mill are properly compensated?
Mr PARKINSON - I thank the honourable member for his question.
The Minister for Planning is aware of Mr and Mrs Griffiths'
situation and their concerns were considered by the statutory
regulators as part of the assessment process undertaken pursuant
to the Pulp Mill Assessment Act 2007. Mr and Mrs Griffiths
made a submission to the Resource Planning and Development
Commission during its assessment of the Gunns pulp mill proposal
as a project of State significance. Their submission is No.
184 of some 780 submissions received during this process.
All submissions made to the Resource Planning and Development
Commission were considered by statutory regulators in undertaking
their assessment of the project in order to recommend conditions
to the Minister for Planning to be included in the pulp mill
permit.
In recommending conditions to the minister, statutory regulators
could only recommend matters that involve or require the issuing
or regulation of a permit licence or approval for which the
relevant person would normally have been responsible. A regulator
could not recommend a condition that the Griffiths' property
be purchased as this condition is not a matter that would
normally be the subject of a permit licence or other approval.
However issues affecting the amenity of the Griffiths' property,
most notably noise, air emissions and visual amenity, are
strictly regulated by the permit conditions.
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