Rethink Forestry Tasmania … there’s got to be a better way

• Environment Tasmania, Florentine Protection Society, The Wilderness Society:

Rethink Forestry Tasmania

There’s got to be a better way!

A new report commissioned by Tasmanian Treasury found that Forestry Tasmania has made a loss of $18 million in the past two years and said:


 “Forestry Tasmania is unable to fulfil its obligations…to operate as a successful business”1.

Forestry Tasmania is a drain on the state budget, costing us money that could be maintaining hospital beds, schools and police resources. The organisation should be radically restructured.

Public Meeting

Please come to this important meeting to hear the facts and join the discussion.

6:00 – 8:00pm, Tuesday 3 April
Upstairs, Hadleys Hotel
40 Murray St, Hobart

Speakers include: Dr Andrew Lohrey (former Minister for Forests), Dr Frank Nicklason and Geoff Law (Forest Conservationist).

The facts:

• Taxpayers have paid over $170 million in payments to Forestry Tasmania in 15 years.

• In the last four years over 3000 forestry jobs have been lost, the industry crisis has deepened and thousands of hectares of native forests have been destroyed. Forestry Tasmania is resisting change and persisting with large-scale logging of Tasmania’s native forests. Forestry Tasmania is now losing $9 million a year and has privatised large areas of public owned plantations.

• The Independent Verification Group’s report shows Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement shows that Forestry Tasmania has over cut and over allocated native forests.

• “The state should expect a total return from Forestry Tasmania of around $43 million each year from its commercial forestry operations. Forestry SA, the South Australian forestry corporation, returned $45 million to the state in 2010 from a smaller revenue and sales base than Forestry Tasmania.”
Naomi Edwards, Actuary

To get involved or for more information contact:
62246319 or www.et.org.au/Rethink+Forestry+Tasmania

First published: 2012-03-27 01:10 PM

• Public Meeting tonight on Rethinking Forestry Tasmania

The Florentine Protection Society, the Wilderness Society and Environment Tasmania
are hosting a public meeting on Forestry Tasmania at 6pm at Hadley’s Hotel in Hobart.

“Recent reports, including part 1 of the February 2012 URS strategic review into
Forestry Tasmania and the West report for the Tasmanian Forests Agreement, highlight
the serious challenges facing Forestry Tasmania” said event host Emma Anglesey of
Environment Tasmania.

“Tonight’s meeting is an opportunity for people to hear this information and the
challenges around how Tasmania manages its public native forests” said Ms Anglesey.
Speakers include former Minister for Forests, Dr Andrew Lohrey, Assoc Professor of
Economics Graeme Wells, Forest Conservationist Geoff Law and physician and
foundation member of Doctors for Forests, Dr Frank Nicklason.

“The way Tasmania manages its native forests has remained unchanged for decades”
said Dr Lohrey. “But in just four years over 3000 forestry jobs have been lost, the
industry has gone into crisis and unique and important native forests have been lost.”

“Now is a critical time for us to look at the facts about Forestry Tasmania and how we
really should be managing our forests in the 21st Century” he concluded.