Kim Booth: Forestry assets fire-sale while industry receives public money

The Hodgman Liberal government has been caught out breaking its election promise to not sell public assets other than the Aurora customer books, with the admission by the Resources Minister today that the Liberals are looking at selling forestry assets, “said Greens Leader and Forestry spokesperson Kim Booth MP.

Mr Booth also criticised the continued provision of public money to forestry operators such as Ta Ann by the federal government, despite moves by the Liberals to tear up the Tasmanian Forests Agreement conservation outcomes.

“Just as the Greens warned in Parliament this week, it is now confirmed that the Liberals will be requiring Forestry Tasmania to sell off assets,” Mr Booth said.

“Treasurer Gutwein should have had the guts to place this on the record when he was asked during Question Time how the government intended to both remove public subsidies from Forestry Tasmania and keep it solvent. Instead we had to wait until Resources Minister Paul Harriss blurted out on radio that sale of forestry’s power-line will be put on the market.”

“Selling the electricity line back to Transend will mean mum and dad consumers will pay for Forestry Tasmania’s losses through their power bills.”

“Apparently the plantation resource is also to be placed on the chopping block.”

“The Liberals appear to be desperately avoiding the responsible step which is to require the GBE implement a full cost recovery business operation.”

“At the other extreme we see the ongoing interference in the market with further public money being gifted to a private operator, Ta Ann.”

“While the Greens have always supported local down-stream processing and value-adding of our timber resource, it should not be subsidised by the public purse, and especially not in the current context where Tony Abbott and Will Hodgman are busy trying to tear up the World Heritage and Reserves of the TFA.”

“The failure to implement the TFA’s reserves now means Ta Ann and other industry players cannot promise their customers that their timber is not sourced from contentious high conservation value forests.”

“Sinking more public money into Ta Ann when that company’s markets will now be jeopardised by both the federal and state governments’ failure to honour the conservation side of the agreement highlights the deeply concerning lack of proper coherent policy from the Liberal party,” Mr Booth said.
Kim Booth MP | Greens Leader