Picture: Rob Blakers
Tasmanian ecologist Dr Bob Brown has called on the state and federal governments to make public how the potential $7 billion in carbon credits for Tasmania’s forests over the next 20 years will be allocated.
( See Page 3 of Financial Review, 28 Nov, Download here: DOC281112-002.pdf ).
“The Federal Government says it has done a lot of work on this issue and the State Government says that these are complex issues but what we need are some simple answers to question such as:
1. Will the Tasmanian government receive an annual flow of income from the $7 billion of carbon credits generated by the Tasmanian Forestry Agreement between 2016 and 2030?
2. Will the credits go to Forestry Tasmania rather than to public services such as hospitals, schools and police?
3. When will the first cheque for the credits arrive?
The Tasmanian and Commonwealth governments should provide answers to these simple questions. They either know the answers, and should tell us, or don’t know the answers, and should admit to that.”
Brown says the carbon credits are the biggest potential revenue source for Tasmania and should be changing the government and business communities’ whole way of thinking.
“A recent estimate is that if mining in the Tarkine forests was to proceed from proposed mines, $200 million may be lost from future carbon credits for public use – this factor must go into modern Tasmania’s planning processes”, he said.
