Boat builder and Tasmanian Special Timber Alliance spokesman Andrew Denman said while the peace deal did not need to be torn up it should be changed to ensure his sector remained sustainable. Sources: The Australian, ABC News
Denman said 12,500 cubic metres of special timber supply under the deal could not be met while half the zones earmarked for the purpose were “fraudulent”, because they lacked the specialty timbers — celery top, myrtle, black-hearted sassafras — needed to sustain the 2000-job sector.
“The TFA has completely failed the sector, we lost 80% of our non-blackwood species into the new reserves,” Denman said.
“It is a major issue. This industry is part of our cultural heritage in Tassie and we need a sustainable supply to ensure it continues for future generations.”
He called for changes to the agreement legislation to guarantee sufficient forests for sustainable specialty timber use, using selective harvesting.
He feared current special timber harvesting under the agreement involved unsustainable clear felling, opposed by the sector.
“We will be the ones chaining ourselves to trees soon,” he said.
Liberal forestry spokesman Peter Gutwein said the talks between the new Hodgman government and the timber industry would include speciality timber representatives.
FIAT will take industry proposals to that meeting for a new forest strategy separate from the peace deal but which complement, rather than undermine, the agreement’s principles and objectives.
Gutwein repeated his intention to “tear up” the agreement and rejected talks with conservationists unless they backed growth in the sector.
Environment Tasmania said it was committed to the peace deal and to finding a way to address the concerns of special timber users.
