YESTERDAY'S sitting of the Tasmanian Parliament in Launceston was disrupted by protests against the $1.4 billion Gunns pulp mill on the Tamar River.
The debate about the merits of the controversial mill, led by former Liberal leader and local Bass member Rene Hidding, also saw the start of the rehabilitation of sacked Labor deputy premier Bryan Green.
Mr Green, speaking in the absence of Premier Paul Lennon, returned to the centre of parliamentary debate in fiery and defiant mode.
The protest against the pulp mill is starting to fizzle, Mr Green yelled shortly after the eviction of the protesters in their No Pulp Mill T-shirts.
It didn't last long, did it, because they know that this pulp mill will be good for Tasmania.
Mr Polley walked from the House of Assembly at 3.35pm, after declaring Parliament could not continue while demonstrators refused to stop yelling and resume their seats.
As Mr Hidding spoke about how Gunns Ltd was building the world's greenest pulp mill, the taunts began.
Cries of You're poisoning the planet , You're a lame duck opposition and They'll be no future echoed in the hall as the rowdy but co-operative hecklers were removed.
Longford resident Michael Morris said it was the first time he had ever been thrown out of any Parliament.
I was just surprised and a bit frustrated that the issue of the pulp mill has not come up earlier, Mr Morris said, while enjoying a post-eviction coffee and mudcake.
He said he had no regrets about being ejected.
They'll find they can't silence us, he said.
Mr Hidding had earlier incensed the anti-pulp mill protesters -- and the four Tasmanian Greens in the House -- when he said he was confident the first sod for the Gunns pulp mill would be turned within six months.
I'm just fed up with these people using the pulp mill -- which is a once-in-a-100 years opportunity for Tasmania -- as their latest protest hobby-horse, he said.
But the Tasmania Greens pulp mill spokesman, Kim Booth, accused both Mr Hidding and Mr Green of making outrageous attacks on the members of the public in the Albert Hall who had genuine concerns about the pulp mill.
Mr Booth presented a petition signed by 8392 Tamar Valley residents opposing the mill.
Yesterday marked a refocusing of the attention of both Houses on northern issues.
While the big news was Mr Lennon's announcement of details about compensation for the Stolen Generation of Tasmania's Aborigines, Parliament also turned its attention to issues such as Launceston's levees, the northern road system, the city's air quality and, of course, the pulp mill.
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