Economy
Not a cent to Forestry Tasmania
Forestry boss Bob Gordon. Right, Forests Minister Bryan Green
• GREENS CONSISTENT ON FORESTRY TASMANIA CONTINGENCY FUND
Will Not Support “Prop Up” Money for FT
Nick McKim MP
Greens Leader
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
The Tasmanian Greens today stood by their position on the contingency allocation for Forestry Tasmania in the State Budget, saying they would never support a cent of the money going to Forestry in its current form.
Greens Leader Nick McKim MP said reports that Forestry was facing a multi-million dollar deficit had further strengthened the case for the Government Business Enterprise to be radically restructured and for the trees and land it currently manages to be returned to the Tasmanian people.
“We have never swayed from our position that the contingency money provided for in the State Budget must be used to wind up Forestry Tasmania, not prop it up in its current form,” Mr McKim said.
“There is no way that the Greens will ever support more taxpayers’ money being handed over to allow a failed government business enterprise like Forestry Tasmania to continue the way it has.”
“That’s exactly what we said on Budget day, and that remains our very strong position.”
“Following Treasury’s briefing of the Upper House there are now very serious concerns that Forestry Tasmania may be at risk of trading insolvent, which is a matter of huge concern to Tasmanian taxpayers.”
“The first URS report found that Forestry Tasmania cannot meet its legal obligations under the Government Business Enterprise Act, which means that business as usual is no longer an option.”
“The Premier has confirmed that the URS Stage 2 report will go through the Cabinet process soon and we expect that it will contain a number of recommendations regarding the future management of state forests.”
“The Greens will wait for the results of that review, and the Premier has given a clear undertaking that none of the money from this contingency fund will flow to Forestry Tasmania until the URS Strategic Review process is completed.”
• Donnybrook-Bridgetown Mail: Taxpayers to fork out for sawmills
GERRY GEORGATOS
25 Jun, 2012 10:00 PM
WA Forest Alliance spokeswoman Jess Beckerling said the state government had guaranteed about $80 million of taxpayers’ money to the big native forest sawmills to keep them in business.
“Gunns didn’t walk away from the Dean Mill operation near Manjimup because this is a thriving sector and Austwest only signed in once the Barnett government guaranteed them many millions of dollars in compensation when the timber runs out,” Ms Beckerling said.
“The state government has signed eight investment security guarantees with the biggest mills promising them millions of dollars in the event the government can no longer supply the many thousands of ancient jarrah and karri trees being logged and milled.
“The native forest timber industry is already costing hard working WA taxpayers millions of dollars to keep them propped up.
“It is an unviable industry that needs thorough reform.”
Media Release
Thursday, 27 June 2012
Expiration of forests moratorium gives opportunity for more comprehensive interim protection of Tasmania’s forgotten forests
The imminent expiry on June 30th of the current ‘Conservation Agreement’ that applied a limited moratorium on logging high conservation value forests means that a new, more comprehensive Conservation Agreement is urgently needed that covers all Tasmania’s high conservation value forests.
Markets for Change, The Last Stand, Huon Valley Environment Centre and Still Wild Still Threatened are calling on the Federal Government to adhere to the precautionary principle and implement an immediate moratorium on the full 563,000 ha of forests that have been verified as having high conservation values in Tasmania since the original, limited agreement was applied. The opportunity should be taken to ensure that values are not lost to ongoing logging and road-building operations in forests that are currently the subject of negotiations for their permanent protection.
There have always been two problems with the incomplete nature of the current logging moratorium, which prompted international markets action:
1. The IGA only ever proposed that 430,000ha of the ENGOs conservation claim of 572,000ha be subject to a moratorium, leaving 142,000ha of equally important forests to bear the brunt of destruction by ongoing forestry operations. Independent Verification Reports have now confirmed that “The majority of ENGO proposed reserves meet one or more National or World Heritage criteria” and “the ENGO proposed reserves represent the last chance to address and protect many natural heritage values on forested public land.”*
2. The Conservation Agreement imposed on January 13th didn’t even cover the 430,000 hectares in its entirety as promised in the IGA, instead allowing logging and road-building in 43 coupes of high conservation value.
“The Federal Government should act to provide for new and improved protection measures over Tasmania’s forests when the current Conservation Agreement expires at midnight on 30th June. We are advocating for a better conservation agreement so that forests under negotiation for protection are not destroyed now whilst their potential reservation is being discussed,” The Last Stand’s Campaign Manager Ula Majewski said.
“The failure to properly impose interim protection on vital areas of forest was directly due to Ta Ann’s wood supply requirements, according to official documents, and so we ramped up our international markets campaign in an effort to get the company to source its wood outside these places,” Markets for Change spokesperson Peg Putt said. “Here is the opportunity to get it right.”
“World heritage value forests in Butlers Gorge, the Picton Valley and elsewhere have been lost during the period of the last Conservation Agreement due to ongoing logging destruction, even though the IGA promised they would be off limits. Across Tasmania there are also important forest ecosystems that can still be protected from logging, which were left out of the previously inadequate Conservation Agreement and are still intact. Sadly these forests remain imminently under threat from proposed logging. These verified forests should now all be off limits whilst future reserves are finalised in the negotiations,” Huon Valley Environment Centre’s Jenny Weber said.
“Our scouting shows that approximately half of the 43 coupes exempted to allow logging inside the moratorium area have been subject to forestry operations, but the rest remain intact. Logging operations need to be kept out of all the critical forests. We are going to continue to fight for these forests’ protection. If a comprehensive Conservation Agreement is not implemented the forest I have been living in for over 6 months will remain under the threat of imminent destruction,” Still Wild Still Threatened spokesperson Miranda Gibson said from the Observer Tree, which is located in one of the 43 exempt logging coupes that was targeted to supply Ta Ann.
— Peg Putt, Jenny Weber, Miranda Gibson, Ula Majewski
• CONSERVATION AGREEMENT NEEDS RENEWING & IMPROVING
Nick McKim MP
Greens Leader
Friday, 29 June 2012
The Tasmanian Greens today backed calls for the Conservation Agreement signed by Federal Minister Tony Burke and Deputy Premier Bryan Green in January to be strengthened and reinstated ahead of its June 30 expiry date.
Greens Leader Nick McKim MP said the original agreement fell well short of what was promised under the Forests Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA), which was for a full moratorium on logging within 430,000 hectares of forests identified as high conservation value.
“The aim of this agreement was to prevent any further logging in high conservation value forests while the industry and conservation signatories negotiated and reached an agreement over forest reserves,” Mr McKim said.
“Failure to renew the Conservation Agreement risks again having conservation gains fall behind industry gains, where restructure money has already been handed over.”
“The moratorium should be extended immediately to give the conservation and industry signatories the space they need to complete their negotiations and boost community confidence in the IGA process.”
“Unfortunately the original agreement was fundamentally flawed, because it allowed for continued logging of 43 coupes within the interim 430,000 hectares identified as high conservation value.”
“The Greens are calling on State and Federal Labor to expedite the signing of a new Conservation Agreement that honours Clause 25 of the IGA, which requires suspension of all logging and roading within the identified 430,000 hectares of high conservation value forest.”
“This Agreement needs to stay in place until the Tasmanian Parliament has passed all of the new reserve legislation implementing the terms of the forest deal, once signatories reach an agreed position,” Mr McKim said.
• EXTENDED CONSERVATION AGREEMENT WELCOME BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN
Nick McKim MP
Greens Leader
Saturday, 30 June 2012
The Tasmanian Greens today gave a cautious welcome to the extension to the Conservation Agreement under the Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA).
Greens Leader Nick McKim MP said that the 31 August extension of a moratorium on logging in the identified 430,000 hectares of high-conservation value forests should allow the Signatories the space to conclude their negotiations on an Agreement due at the end of July.
“At the eleventh hour the IGA’s Conservation Agreement over the interim protected forest areas has been extended by two months, but unfortunately the opportunity to strengthen the original flawed Agreement does not appear to have been taken,” Mr McKim said.
“The original flawed Conservation Agreement allowed for continued logging of 43 coupes within the interim 430,000 hectares identified as high-conservation value, and the negotiations over the time extension should also have removed any remaining exempted coupes.”
“We also need a commitment that this extended Agreement will stay in place until all the new reserve legislation, implementing the terms of any agreed forest deal reached by the Signatories, is passed, even should the Parliament’s vote occur after the new 31 August deadline,” Mr McKim said.