Silica corporate welfare = another cargo cult

The Tasmanian Greens today said the latest silica incentive proposal from Labor is yet another example of corporate welfare threatening to lock Tasmania into the past.

Greens Leader Nick McKim MP said a prosperous future must be based on those things which make Tasmania special and unique, not corporate welfare of the kind Tasmania is seeing for the pulp mill and now a mythical silica proponent.

“Here we go again. Labor bolting back to the discredited old cargo cult fixation just as they have with the pulp mill,” Mr McKim said.

“They have no proponent and no idea. They want to lock Tasmania in the past, when we need to be moving forward.”

“This is corporate welfare writ large. They are proposing to rip money out of Tasmanian businesses with one hand to give to special corporate mates with the other, should they even be able to find one.”

“The north west needs jobs that are sustainable for generations rather than boom and bust proposals reliant on public subsidies and exposed to fluctuations in the global market.”

“Protecting the Tarkine as a National Park within our globally acclaimed Wilderness World heritage Area would tap into the booming tourism market, creating more long-term sustainable jobs, than the forestry and mining industries combined can provide.”

“It certainly didn’t take long for Labor to revert to type after sacking the Greens Ministers for standing up for what we believe in,” Mr McKim said.
Nick McKim MP Greens Leader