Frank Nicklason
Mr Garrett, I heard you talk the talk when interviewed by Ian Thorpe recently. You know what has to come next if it is going to mean anything. PLEASE make a courageous stand (that you can look back on with some pride) and gain the respect of the long suffering Tasmanian people who are tired of seeing the rape of their island with the complicity of politicians, both Federal and State.
AS much as I can understand the disappointment expressed by many in the wake of Kevin Rudd’s forest policy announcement last week I am not yet already to concede that Federal Labor is as bad as the Coalition on forestry.
With its support for managed investment schemes (which have promoted the broadacre conversion of native forests and farmland in Tasmania to plantation) and the reneging on important parts of the so-called Community Forest Agreement the Howard Government has very little credibility in this area.
So far your leader, Mr Rudd, has ruled out adding to Tasmania’s reserve estate but he has clearly differentiated your party from the Government on climate change strategy. If he is to appear consistent and fair dinkum Mr Rudd will have to insist on major reforms in Tasmanian forestry practices. He will have to set an appropriate deadline to end clearfelling of native forests (for largely woodchip production) and the burning of the huge residual biomass. Both these practices are clearly at odds with enlightened action on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Banning them would allow for a profitable, local, very high value-adding and labour intense native forest industry to develop and the $20 million would be much better spent promoting such a reformed industry.
Similarly, Mr Rudd has claimed that he would only support a pulpmill with the highest of environmental standards. Great, but given the emergence of much evidence that the assessment process for the mill is not going to be able to assure that this will be the case, he has another tough call to make if he wishes to gain the votes of the many worried electors of Bass and Braddon.
Mr Garrett, I heard you talk the talk when interviewed by Ian Thorpe recently. You know what has to come next if it is going to mean anything. PLEASE make a courageous stand (that you can look back on with some pride) and gain the respect of the long suffering Tasmanian people who are tired of seeing the rape of their island with the complicity of politicians, both Federal and State.
Dr Frank Nicklason (FRACP)
West Hobart
