Gilly Flower

Actually it's more like what a month, since it would have to be at least that since I've had time to contribute anything to this blog, or read/respond to any other WriteLinker. My apologies to all of you, but life on the pulp mill front has been particularly intense of late, and it culminated in last Wednesday's Community Cabinet, here in Lonnie. I was one of the lucky ones who not only attended the public forum, but also secured a one-on-one interview with a federal Minister.

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Well, almost. The Launceston response to this Rudd government initiative of taking Cabinet to the regions, and enabling ministers to hear the concerns of regional and rural Australians, was so overwhelming, that where possible interviews with PAs were offered as an alternative to the ministers themselves.

So while I missed out on seeing Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke, I secured 10 minutes with his secretary Dr O'Connell. Ten minutes was the limit for these interviews, and only an hour was allocated for them, so scoring one was something of a coup, and lots of people missed out.

I went for TB over the Big Three - ie Penny, (Water & Climate Change)Peter (Environment & the Arts) and Kevin (PM!) as I thought everyone would go for them, and there was no option for an either/or when phoning to register, so you had to have your preferred minister's name at the ready.

Initially we - as in, those of us opposed to the mill - all thought we'd missed out anyway, as the Tuesday deadline passed without receiving either the promised confirmation email, or a phone call, so it was a genuine surprise to receive a phone call from Canberra at work on Wednesday afternoon, with apologies for the delay, the explanation for it, and an offer to speak to Dr O'C instead.

Naturally I said yes please.

Cyberspace was humming that evening as similar stories of success were swapped, and an estimate of how many had achieved those precious 10 minutes could be ascertained. And therefore how many from the 'dark side' might have also managed to gain ten minutes to bend a minister's ear.

The event was very well organised and managed, although too much time was spent waffling on with thanks and acknowledgements, and self-congratulatory words about how well the government had lived up to its pre-election promises, and how they were on track to do this, that and t'other.

The audience was becoming visibly restless as the minutes ticked away, and still no opportunity for questions from the floor. Which is what the forum was supposed to be all about. But to give Kevin his due, he assured us we would not miss out on our allotted time, it would just involve one-on-ones running later than indicated, and an extended evening all round.

After fielding several questions from the floor (the majority of which were related to either the pulp mill, or forestry practices more generally), and serving up ambivalent responses that remained resolutely 'on message', or else managed to avoid answering the question altogether, (a typical politician's ploy), the killer question was finally asked by a ten-year-old boy. It floored Kevin completely, and his answer satisfied nobody. Needless to say it was also the focus of every media piece the following day. Both local and national.

Finally it was time for our personal ministerial interviews.

Originally at 7.55pm mine was already towards the end of the hour, so the hall was thinning out visibly by the time I was eventually escorted through to see Minister Burke's offsider after 8.30pm. Having spent the previous 20 minutes calming down FF, who was scheduled to be Peter G's last interview, and who had worked herself up into a teary emotional state, I was also feeling more hyped than I wanted to be.

Dr. O'C and his note-taker gave every indication they were keen to hear everything I had to say, and were interested and focussed. Which given the full-on day they'd already had was a good effort. I gabbled. I know I did. Ten minutes isn't really very long when there was as much to cram into them as I intended doing. I had my presentation all ready, (and I included three poems along with the facts & figures, copies of letters sent to pollies at every level, and articles etc). And I went through my dot point list of everything we'd been encouraged to include.

Tony Burke even came over towards the end of the 10 minutes, (I'm still puzzled as to how he managed that given the tight schedule), and again gave every appearance of being sincerely interested in my concerns. At least I was able to hand him the file, which he said he would read during the flight back to the mainland.

Whether he did, or whether it has since been filed in the bin, I may never know. I've followed it up with another letter though, and will follow it up with one a week for the duration now our tenuous relationship has been established.

But in tandem with this we have other pulp mill deadlines looming. November 30 is the deadline for the wood supply and Sovereign Risk Agreement, and the much trumpeted date of premier David Bartlett's 'line in the sand'. His memorably-phrased, (and probably since regretted) assurance he will provide no further state government assistance to Gunns and their pulp mill project.

Which means it could - theoretically - all be over by Christmas. Although few seriously think so.

However, there is feverish activity to encourage as many people as possible to remind David B of his intention, and to hold to it. There's feverish activity on another key aspect of the mill too, but details of that can wait. This blog entry (written, I have to say, over a couple of days) is long enough, and if you've managed to get this far without going in search of more entertaining reading I won't hold it against you!

To be continued . . . . .