Liberals refuse to come clean on plantation privatisation
Taxpayers have lost money on the sale
Government must now release Forestry Tasmania letter
The Liberal Government has voted against providing the public with more information over the deal to privatise Tasmania’s plantation assets.
Shadow Minister for Forestry David Llewellyn said the Liberals are being deliberatively secretive.
“The public has the right to know more about the deal to sell off Tasmania’s plantation assets,” Mr Llewellyn said.
“The Government today voted to remain secretive over the details of the deal which appears on face value to have cost taxpayers dearly.
“The Liberals cannot dispute the sale price is significantly less than the cost of planting the trees in the first place.
“The figure is also significantly less than a comparable sale deal struck by the receivers of Gunns in 2014.
“What does the Government have to hide?
“In September last year it released a letter from Forestry Tasmania to Shareholder Ministers outlining the plantation sale and the price it was expected to reach.
“At the time it was claimed that releasing the sale forecast would skew the market. That is not the case anymore. The Minister must now release an unredacted version of that letter.”
David Llewellyn MP Shadow Minister for Forestry
