“Australia’s anti-environment Minister for the Environment, Murray Watt, on the eve of the Anzac commemoration weekend, snuck out the death warrant for 144 of hectares of northwest Tasmania’s forests and wildlife including eagles, owls, orange-bellied parrots, swifts, Tasmanian devils and native bats. His last-half-day-in-the-week approval was for the North West Transmission Developments project, a high voltage set of transmission lines to pave the way for a series of foreign-owned windfarms at places like Robbins Island and St Patricks Plains, and push closer to extinction many birds and animals, and the industrialisation of beautiful, natural northern Tasmania,” Bob Brown said tonight.

“As of close of business, Friday, Watt had not revealed to the Australian public what his so-called ‘62 strict environmental conditions’ were. The billionaires of South Korea and the Philippines driving the minister’s decision will be raising their champagne glasses while ordinary Tasmanians are left in the dark,” Brown said.