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.