Dean Winter
The Greens party has made it clear that the cost of their support for Federal Labor’s legislative agenda will be bans on native forestry, according to Tasmania’s Minister for Business, Industry and Resources, Eric Abetz. Source: Timberbiz
Mr Abetz said there were no limits to the Greens’ radical quest to end Tasmania’s world-class and sustainable native forestry industry.
“This is a bad sign for (Opposition Leader) Dean Winter as he attempts to keep the radical left of his own party in check,” Mr Abetz said.
“A Labor-Green minority government, whether in Tasmania or in Canberra, would mean a restart of the forestry wars and an open attack on the thousands of Tasmanians that rely on our sustainable forestry sector for their livelihoods.
“The last Labor-Green ‘forest peace deal’ betrayed Tasmanian timber communities and gutted two out of three jobs from the sector.
“In contrast, our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future backs in sustainable forestry, keeping our economy strong and creating the jobs Tasmanians need to ensure that Tasmania remains the best state to live, work and raise a family,” he said.
“The Greens have made clear the price of their support for a Labor minority government.
“How long can Dean Winter hold out against these radical demands and Labor’s left-faction controlled party machine?”
Mr Abetz said that like death and taxes, one of the certainties of life is Labor’s equivocation on native forestry and the many jobs it supports.
He said workers needed to look any further than Western Australia and Victoria where State Labor Governments ended sustainable native forestry to appease their Left flanks or even Tasmania where the Labor-Green ‘forest peace deal’ gutted the industry, taking two out of every three jobs.
Most recently, NSW Labor, supported by the Federal Labor Government, has proposed to “reward” states for essentially locking-up public native forests.
“This latest betrayal of timber communities by Labor is as predictable as it is tragic,” said Mr Abetz.
“Labor, in its insatiable thirst for inner-city Green votes, is once again putting workers last, seemingly unwilling to recognise that productive forest estates, including Tasmania’s, provide the opportunity to sequester carbon in long-lived timber products and provide society with low emission construction materials.
“In contrast, our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future backs in sustainable forestry to keep our economy strong to create the jobs Tasmanians need to ensure that Tasmania remains the best State to live, work and raise a family.
“The Tasmanian Liberal Government recognises the views of world-leading experts, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that active forest management can contribute towards emissions reduction.
“Labor’s latest Green-tinged thought bubble isn’t backed by science and would lead to Australia importing more timber from overseas, increasing carbon emissions while harming our economy and environment.
“The active management of our native forests improves fire management and pest control, and actually increases opportunities for carbon storage,” he said.
“We support emerging carbon markets that encourage landowners to become forest growers and provide options for our public forest estate while maintaining the growth of our timber industry and on-island processing.
“The question for Tasmanian Labor is how long can the hapless Dean Winter hold out against his left faction-controlled party machine.”
