Government’s forestry announcement big on spin, light on detail

 Liberals have broken a promise to supply Forestry Tasmania with more wood
 Barnett can’t say who wants to purchase timber from protected areas
 How much of the land is actually available for harvesting?

Shadow Resources Minister David Llewellyn said the Liberals have broken their fundamental promise to the forest industry.

“Last election the Liberals promised to provide more wood to Forestry Tasmania to allow the industry to grow,” Mr Llewellyn said.

“Underneath all the spin, Guy Barnett’s legislation will actually reduce Forestry Tasmania’s obligation to supply 137,000 cubic metres of high quality sawlogs from public forests.

“This was set as the absolute baseline volume to provide certainty to the industry. Timber from other sources was supposed to provide opportunities for future growth.

“Now the Liberals are reducing that baseline volume and eroding the growth prospects for the industry. That is a broken promise, plain and simple.

“The other problem for Guy Barnett is that he still hasn’t identified a single company that is prepared to either harvest or purchase the timber from the area he wants to open up.

“The leading players in the forest sector like ARTEC and Ta Ann have already said they won’t take timber. There remains a risk that this move will also put Forestry Tasmania back to square one in its pursuit of Forest Stewardship Certification.

“Mr Barnett needs to explain how much of the 356,000 hectares is actually suitable for harvesting. In evidence to Government Business Enterprise hearings last year Forestry Tasmania said it may be less than 50,000 hectares. Once you remove contentious areas like Three Cape and the Derby mountain bike trails, the area may be even smaller.

“Without answers to critical questions, this legislation will only create further uncertainty for the Forestry Industry.

“The Government’s announced today is severely lacking in detail.”
David Llewellyn MP Shadow Resources Minister