When they are not demonising the company for being largely foreign owned, and Chinese at that, the Greens have argued the mine simply needs to find an alternative site.

The Tarkine, they say, is facing a death by 1000 cuts, and they're determined to stop MMG's "invasion" and "destruction" of rainforests for a "monster" dam.

The rhetoric is, as we have observed before, ridiculous, and ranges from questionable dog whistle racism to a misleading lack of perspective.

For the Greens though, this isn't about one dam - that would disturb about 0.066 per cent of the area labelled as the Tarkine; it's about stopping all mining in one of the most mineral-rich regions in the world.

It is noteworthy that while we argue the proposed dam should be thoroughly assessed under legislation, the Greens want it rejected out of hand.

If MMG is not permitted to build its tailings dam on that land solely on the basis it is in the Tarkine then it will set a precedence and send a message that mining companies should keep walking.

Turning the area into a national park is the agenda and it is an extreme one, with no comparable position from the other side of the argument.

That is, no one wants to log or mine the Tarkine out of existence.

Tasmanians want to keep the balance we have between conservation and development, and recreation too.

Claiming this large, diverse expanse of land, with a history of industrial activity, is worth more to us - if locked away - through tourism is a nonsense that would put all our eggs in the one basket.

We've seen how vulnerable that sector is to unforeseen events, such as a global pandemic.

Tasmania's North-West and West coasts are best served by a broad-based economy, not one that is reliant on the welfare dollar.

We can - and should - protect what makes the Tarkine special while ensuring our children and our grandchildren have a future here.

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