Greens Senator for Tasmania Peter Whish-Wilson
The Greens have put a $1 billion price tag on the native timber industry in Tasmania. The Greens declared that a Labor-Green Government would completely shut down the native forestry industry in Tasmania and force Australian taxpayers to foot the $1 billion bill. Source: Timberbiz
“Under the Greens plan the Federal Government would pay the Tasmanian Government to end native forest logging,” the Greens’ statement said.
Greens Senator for Tasmania Peter Whish-Wilson said the $1bn would be spread over 10 years, “reinvested back into protecting our forests, and creating new jobs, helping forestry workers transition into new industries”.
“We were assuming … the Greens are very close to being in the balance of power in federal government,” he said.
“And we will push the federal government to transfer these funds to the Tasmanian state government.
“Of course, that’s going to require some kind of a memorandum of understanding between the two governments, it’s going to require the state government to legally protect these forests in perpetuity, that’s going to have to be cast iron tight.
“And then there’ll be some kind of task-force around how the money is going to be spent. It’s not going to come as a lump sum.”
Assistant Forestry Minister Senator Jonno Duniam said a plan to shut down a sustainable, world-class industry and then force taxpayers to pick up the bill was not a plan; it was madness.
“Tasmanians only need remember what happened last time the Greens held a balance of power with Labor. Over 4000 forestry jobs lost, and regional communities decimated,” Senator Duniam said.
“And yet, the Greens lauded that decision and claimed that the destruction of those jobs and livelihoods was a good outcome for their own political agenda. It is self-serving and wrong.
“We know that Labor has done a dirty preference deal with the Greens, placing them high on its how-to-vote cards across the state. And now the Labor Party stands by silently as the Greens put forward this ludicrous plan, which only goes to show they are hedging their bets.”
Senator Duniam said that Labor could not be trusted on forestry because it was always looking for Green preferences and would do a deal to sell out the industry at the first opportunity.
He said the Liberals’ position could not be more clear.
“We do not support any shutdowns of Tasmania’s native forestry industry,” he said.
