The time for burning

Tim Morris MR

“The burning of forests is a third world practice, and Ministers of the Tasmanian government are behaving like third world dictators, who permit the rape, plunder and pillage of the earth, who collect donations from companies as a reward for policy inaction, and who ignore the will of the people, and their responsibilities to the our global community.”
Tim Morris MP
Greens Shadow Native Forest Logging Spokesperson
Friday, 28 March 2008
www.tas.greens.org.au

The Tasmanian Greens today slammed Forestry Tasmania’s decision to start burning the Styx Valley this afternoon and called on the Lennon Government to end this senseless and gross pollution.

Greens Shadow Native Forest Logging spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that he had just observed a parade of contractors heading into the Styx Valley to commence the annual so-called regeneration burning which will send millions of tonnes of smoke and ash into the sky over Tasmania; this fire schedule is confirmed by the information on the ‘planned burns’ website that states that six areas are intended to be burnt by Forestry Tasmania as high intensity burns.

“It is about time that the Lennon Labor Government realised that this forestry burning is unnecessary, causes significant harm to Tasmania’s image, and is contributing significantly to the carbon emissions from the state,” Mr Morris said.

“The burning of Tasmania’s forests in this manner has nothing whatsoever to do with reducing the risk of bushfires and clearly shows just how much the Lennon Government is pandering to the whims of the native forest logging lobby and their ongoing environmental vandalism.”

“The Mangers or Forestry Tasmania are stuck in the 20th Century and are acting on the mistaken belief that resources are plentiful and pollution is simply a by product of doing business, instead of facing up to the fact that we are now in the 21st Century with water shortages, dying rainforests and a changing climate.”

“There is no doubt that climate change has been caused by wayward industrial activity, to feed the greed of corporations that put profit before people, and who demonstrate a complete and flagrant disregard for the impact of their activities on current and future generations, and by continuing such inappropriate burning practices Forestry Tasmania is proving itself to be such a corporation.”

“The burning of forests is a third world practice, and Ministers of the Tasmanian government are behaving like third world dictators, who permit the rape, plunder and pillage of the earth, who collect donations from companies as a reward for policy inaction, and who ignore the will of the people, and their responsibilities to the our global community.”

“Both Forestry Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government are presented consistently with opportunities to demonstrate their commitment to progressive and contemporary management practices and policies which are socially, environmentally and economically responsible, the burning of forests is none of these things, in fact it is quite the opposite, and at some point they must realise actions speak louder than words, and words are cheap.”

“We can expect that for the next two months visitors and locals will have to live in the polluting smoke instead of enjoying Tasmania’s clean air and glorious autumn days, such access to clean air should be a right not a privilege.”

“It is unacceptable that the logging industry has, for whatever irrational reason, been given the right to carry on polluting Tasmania and damaging our image, but is not required to take responsibility for their substantial contribution to air pollution, carbon emissions and global warming,” Mr Morris said.