It is said that Tasmania has the cleanest air on the planet. Set down in the Roaring Forties, westerlies travel all the way from Patagonia, uninterrupted by any landmass. The winds that hit Tasmania bring clear skies and enormous waves.Politics in Australia's smallest state, as rough as those rollers, is dirty with corruption and intrigue according to Richard Flannagan, one of Tasmania's leading writers. Logging interests dominate the state, with both major political parties continuing to endorse the felling of old growth forest.
This year The Wilderness Society is taking the Australian Federal Government and Gunns Ltd (the dominant corporate player in Tasmanian logging) to court to try to block the building of a controversial pulp mill.Thankfully, much of Tasmania, including the granite peaks of Freycinet National Park, are protected (for now) from the rapacious logging industry. A welcome breathe of fresh air.
