Special Timbers Sector Welcomes Bipartisanship

Media Release from Tasmanian Special Timbers Alliance

Wednesday 29th July 2015

The Tasmanian Special Timbers Alliance welcomes yesterday’s announcement from Labor leader Bryan Green on Specialty Timbers.

The announcement of a bipartisan position and acknowledgement of the unique nature of the Specialty Timber Sector will provide a more stable investment environment for the sector and compliment the current government’s initiatives and support for the industry.

Andrew Denman of the Special Timbers Alliance said;

“It is good to see some common sense return to the discussion around Specialty Timbers. It is clear that the TFA did not address the Specialty Timber sector’s needs. Post TFA only 25% of the original Special Timber Management Units remain outside reserves and ENGO chosen replacement areas in many cases don’t even contain any trees.

It’s high time the TFA ENGO signatories come clean with the Tasmanian public and the World Heritage Committee on this issue and admit that they made a huge error with Specialty Timbers during the TFA.

It is encouraging to see Labor embrace the concept of using all royalties earned from Special Timber harvesting to directly contribute to the long term conservation of the very areas they are harvested from. The concept of sustainable use as a means to achieve nature conservation is a well recognised principle which is accepted by conservation organisations worldwide, including the IUCN.

Access to the TWWHA and other reserves is not about ‘ideological logging’ as claimed by some environmentalists, it is purely about ensuring that the industry has access to a small volume of specialty timber on a sustainable basis in perpetuity, ensuring that the areas we harvest from are properly managed for conservation and ensuring that the rich cultural heritage surrounding this industry is safeguarded for future generations. The real ideology being pushed here by self proclaimed ‘environmentalists’ is the antithesis of this – one of complete opposition to any form of native forest harvesting even if it is sustainable and complete opposition to an industry that has been part of Tasmania’s rich cultural fabric for over 200 years.

We thank Labor again for their contribution and look forward to an exciting future for this iconic Tasmanian industry.”
Andrew Denman of the Special Timbers Alliance