Comments on: Great Southern on the Tiwi Islands – Timber, Fear, Intimidation and a great tax dodge http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2009/05/26/great-southern-on-the-tiwi-islands-timber-fear-and-intimidation/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:11:15 +1100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Australia’s shame Part 2: Tiwi Forestry – 30,000 hectares of “bankrupt monoculture” « Tiwi Islands – Northern Territory http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2009/05/26/great-southern-on-the-tiwi-islands-timber-fear-and-intimidation/comment-page-1/#comment-605 Australia’s shame Part 2: Tiwi Forestry – 30,000 hectares of “bankrupt monoculture” « Tiwi Islands – Northern Territory Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:49:31 +0000 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/?p=1305#comment-605 [...] I’ve previously examined the mess that is left of the Tiwi Forestry operations here and here. [...]

...] I’ve previously examined the mess that is left of the Tiwi Forestry operations here and here. [...

]]> By: Australia’s shame Part 2: Tiwi Forestry – 30,000 hectares of “bankrupt monoculture” – The Northern Myth http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2009/05/26/great-southern-on-the-tiwi-islands-timber-fear-and-intimidation/comment-page-1/#comment-596 Australia’s shame Part 2: Tiwi Forestry – 30,000 hectares of “bankrupt monoculture” – The Northern Myth Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:50:40 +0000 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/?p=1305#comment-596 [...] I’ve previously examined the mess that is left of the Tiwi Forestry operations here and here. [...]

...] I’ve previously examined the mess that is left of the Tiwi Forestry operations here and here. [...

]]> By: anthropologyworks » The Tiwi are robbed again http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2009/05/26/great-southern-on-the-tiwi-islands-timber-fear-and-intimidation/comment-page-1/#comment-504 anthropologyworks » The Tiwi are robbed again Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:27:46 +0000 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/?p=1305#comment-504 [...] See some related blog commentary here. [...]

...] See some related blog commentary here. [...

]]> By: Bob Gosford http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2009/05/26/great-southern-on-the-tiwi-islands-timber-fear-and-intimidation/comment-page-1/#comment-468 Bob Gosford Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:08:01 +0000 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/?p=1305#comment-468 An update from ABC News in Darwin today, 10 September 2009. I wonder when they will ask the Commonwealth to bail them out? "Tiwi plantations could be left to rot By Phoebe Stewart Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Land Council says it is worried their multi-million dollar plantation could be left to rot after being told that banks are withdrawing finance at the end of the month. Council chairman Robert Tipungwuti says receivers of collapsed company Great Southern have told them that finance for the 30,000 hectares of acacia trees on the islands will stop on September 30. Mr Tipungwuti says the plantation has running costs of $700,000 a month. He had hoped finance would continue until they could find another investor. "It's all up in the air at the moment," he said. "But the forest industry itself is worth a lot of money and it's a huge investment and we just can't leave it there. "So I gather that the leaders will get together very soon and source other means of financial support." An update from ABC News in Darwin today, 10 September 2009.

I wonder when they will ask the Commonwealth to bail them out?

“Tiwi plantations could be left to rot

By Phoebe Stewart

Tiwi Islands

The Tiwi Land Council says it is worried their multi-million dollar plantation could be left to rot after being told that banks are withdrawing finance at the end of the month.

Council chairman Robert Tipungwuti says receivers of collapsed company Great Southern have told them that finance for the 30,000 hectares of acacia trees on the islands will stop on September 30.

Mr Tipungwuti says the plantation has running costs of $700,000 a month.

He had hoped finance would continue until they could find another investor.

“It’s all up in the air at the moment,” he said.

“But the forest industry itself is worth a lot of money and it’s a huge investment and we just can’t leave it there.

“So I gather that the leaders will get together very soon and source other means of financial support.”

]]> By: Bob Gosford http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2009/05/26/great-southern-on-the-tiwi-islands-timber-fear-and-intimidation/comment-page-1/#comment-306 Bob Gosford Tue, 26 May 2009 11:13:47 +0000 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/?p=1305#comment-306 Tom - I think Mad Mal realised pretty early on that if you yelled or danced funny at a tree, or bunch of trees, then they would do nothing in response - so he gave up on them and stuck with people as the subject of his particular madness. Seriously though, in my research I haven't come across any involvement by Mad Mal in relation to the Tiwi forestry mess o his credit - though his predecessor Amanda Vanstone did stand around in a hi-vis jacket and a hard hat when the port for the forestry setup was opened. Or maybe I just missed your query's purpose completely? Tom – I think Mad Mal realised pretty early on that if you yelled or danced funny at a tree, or bunch of trees, then they would do nothing in response – so he gave up on them and stuck with people as the subject of his particular madness.

Seriously though, in my research I haven’t come across any involvement by Mad Mal in relation to the Tiwi forestry mess o his credit – though his predecessor Amanda Vanstone did stand around in a hi-vis jacket and a hard hat when the port for the forestry setup was opened.
Or maybe I just missed your query’s purpose completely?

]]> By: Tom McLoughlin http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2009/05/26/great-southern-on-the-tiwi-islands-timber-fear-and-intimidation/comment-page-1/#comment-305 Tom McLoughlin Tue, 26 May 2009 11:04:51 +0000 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/?p=1305#comment-305 Mal Brough? Mal Brough?

]]> By: jack jones http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2009/05/26/great-southern-on-the-tiwi-islands-timber-fear-and-intimidation/comment-page-1/#comment-304 jack jones Tue, 26 May 2009 07:23:38 +0000 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/?p=1305#comment-304 An interesting factoid...Given that the standard amount of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per hectare from cleared land in the top end is commonly over 150 tonnes per hectare the estimated total emissions from clearing the 30,000 ha on the Tiwis recently would be in the order of well over 4,500,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions. At a generous estimate of 5 tonnes of carbon per average car per year that equals the annual emissions of around 900,000 cars. Who says NT can't punch above its weight? While some of this would be sequestered in the growing of plantations it would only amount to a small fraction. Great Southern may well have the calculations. Although if they are as good as their financial management one would have to be somewhat skeptical of whatever figures they claimed. One does wonder at the credibility of journalists who have recently been trumpeting the value of this kind of development without submitting any of the rhetoric to deeper scrutiny. Especially as the Land Council representative was quoted as saying they (forestry ventures) repeatedly fail on the Tiwis. Other submissions on the website have pointed out the comparitively poor employment outcomes for locals. Nonetheless the faith of both the Territory opposition and the NT government seems to survive despite all evidence to the contrary. With this kind of intellectual clout at the political level we can expect to see further such debacles foisted on Aboriginal people in the near future as both aboriginal and environmental objectors are accused of anti-development heresies. Sad for the environment, sad for the aboriginal people that have once again been used as pawns by developers and left to pick up the pieces. An interesting factoid…Given that the standard amount of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per hectare from cleared land in the top end is commonly over 150 tonnes per hectare the estimated total emissions from clearing the 30,000 ha on the Tiwis recently would be in the order of well over 4,500,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions. At a generous estimate of 5 tonnes of carbon per average car per year that equals the annual emissions of around 900,000 cars. Who says NT can’t punch above its weight? While some of this would be sequestered in the growing of plantations it would only amount to a small fraction. Great Southern may well have the calculations. Although if they are as good as their financial management one would have to be somewhat skeptical of whatever figures they claimed.

One does wonder at the credibility of journalists who have recently been trumpeting the value of this kind of development without submitting any of the rhetoric to deeper scrutiny. Especially as the Land Council representative was quoted as saying they (forestry ventures) repeatedly fail on the Tiwis. Other submissions on the website have pointed out the comparitively poor employment outcomes for locals. Nonetheless the faith of both the Territory opposition and the NT government seems to survive despite all evidence to the contrary. With this kind of intellectual clout at the political level we can expect to see further such debacles foisted on Aboriginal people in the near future as both aboriginal and environmental objectors are accused of anti-development heresies. Sad for the environment, sad for the aboriginal people that have once again been used as pawns by developers and left to pick up the pieces.

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