Tasmanian Bills Fact Sheets Tasmanian Bills Fact Sheets[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
Wesley Vale Pulp and Paper Industry (Repeal) Bill 2011
FACT SHEET
The Wesley Vale Pulp and Paper Industry (Repeal) Bill 2011 will repeal the Wesley
Vale Pulp and Paper Industry Act 1961. Cabinet Decision ACD 737 (Matter AC 686)
of 7 November 2011 approved the repeal of the Act.
The Wesley Vale Pulp and Paper Industry Act 1961 was developed to specify the
terms and conditions under which a pulp and paper mill would operate at Wesley
Vale. The mill ceased operations in March 2010 and decommissioning and
rehabilitation of the site have been underway since that time.
There is no foreseeable intent to locate a similar enterprise at the site, and even if
this was to occur, it is anticipated any new development would be more appropriately
governed by more recent legislation including the Environmental Management and
Pollution Control Act 1994.
The closure and subsequent rehabilitation of the mill site means the Wesley Vale
Pulp and Paper Industry Act 1961 is redundant and can be repealed without
consequence. In February 2011, the parent company of Tas Paper, the operator of
the mill, endorsed the repeal of the Act.
Its repeal will also fulfil the Government's undertaking given to irrigators who have
invested in the Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme. The Government
committed to make legislative amendments to provide certainty on the allocation of
water for the Scheme. As the rights to this water were previously held by Tas Paper,
through the Wesley Vale Pulp and Paper Industry Act 1961, its repeal will ensure
certainty on this matter.
Under the Wesley Vale Pulp and Paper Industry Act 1961, Tas Paper held rights to
water as long as the industry was carried on. When operations at the mill ceased,
these rights no longer existed, and the water previously held under these rights was
allocated to Tasmanian Irrigation and irrigators on the Mersey River.
Notwithstanding the allocation of this water, some uncertainty remained while the
Wesley Vale Pulp and Paper Industry Act 1961 remained on the State's statutes.