CFMEU
The timber workers union, CFMEU Manufacturing, wants the Federal Government to support a Bill moved on Wednesday by Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie which aims to clarify a legal anomaly which has created significant uncertainty for Regional Forest Agreements. Source: Timberbiz
The changes being pursued would amend the EPBC Act to support sustainable forest management continuing to deliver triple bottom line (social, environmental and economic) benefits from the very small amount of public native forest still available for timber production.
The union wrote to the Prime Minister Scott Morrison in August calling for bipartisan support to changes to the EPBC Act and the Illegal Logging Regulations to blunt the outrageous and disingenuous smear litigation by green groups like the Bob Brown Foundation trying to shut down timber communities.
“We welcome Senator McKenzie’s Bill,” CFMEU National Secretary, Manufacturing Division, Michael O’Connor said.
“There has been a lack of urgency to date in defence of timber jobs from the Government,” he said.
“Governments needs to do more to protect regional jobs and this would be a good start.”
The letter to Mr Morrison from the union in August outlined that the way both the EPBC Act and Illegal Logging Regulations were being interpreted by some was not consistent with the objectives of Australian Parliaments when they legislated them.
The letter appeals to Mr Morrison who said about Tasmanian timber workers at the 2019 election that “wherever these jobs are…our government doesn’t sneer at the jobs of Regional Australians, we think they’re very important – it’s an honest, hard, decent living”.
In addition to the changes to the EPBC Act the union is continuing to demand effective amendments to the Code of Practice for Timber Production from the Victorian Government.
In July, the Victorian Minister Jaclyn Symes stated about the Code that “regional jobs are more important than ever right now, and we can’t let outdated regulation put them at risk”.
“We have outdated regulation at the Federal and State levels,” Mr O’Connor said.
“Governments need to back up their rhetoric and promises with action to protect jobs.
“Our union will leave no stone unturned in defence of our members’ jobs, their families and their communities,” he said.
