The sun rose a fairytale shade of pink this morning, promising perfect weather. Struck out for Montague Island 7km off the coast, home to a famous seal colony. I must say I was expecting the island to be teeming with seals, but it must have been a good day for hunting because there wasn’t a seal in sight. I went exploring amongst the rocks and eventually found a nice big one. He gave us a welcoming wave with his flipper and a toothy grin and then went back to his siesta. That’s the nice thing about being in a kayak, its so quiet, and so non-threatening that you can really get up close to sea life. Surfed all the way to Mystery Bay, our stop for the night To more serious issues, I spoke to Rob Palmer from the Launceston Environment Centre. The Round Table is advancing well, with lots of interest from potential members. Also of interest is an announcement (this is second hand so I don’t have all the details) that the Tasmanian Government may pull the decision making process out of the hands of the RPDC and into pass it by a vote of parliament. So lets lok at this for a second. The Government tells the Tasmanian people that they will consultwith them because the project is of such significance. They tell them that they are allowed to have their say and that they will be listened to. Hundereds of citizens spend time and resources objecting to the mill. In fact, so many people have a say, and the science behind their objections is so strong, that it looks like the independent body could rule against the mill. Oh my goodness, that wasn’t supposed to happen, so the Government, through the Pulp Mill Task Force, starts heavily promoting the mill. So heavily in fact, that the the Chair of the RPDC resigns because he is sick of ythe Task Force undermining the objectivity of the process. That wasn’t supposed to happen either. So now, the government is suggesting that they will take decision out of the hands of the independent body and into parliament where they have a majority. I don’t believe that the Tasmanian government could get away with this, or that the Federal government would give its stamp of approval if State approval was obtained in such a tainted manner. It feels more like last ditch efforts to shore up a process that is unraveling before Gunns and the Tasmanian Governments eyes. So keep those donations coming, because now more than ever Tasmania needs a vision for a sustainable future. Click here for the donations page.