There appears to be a split in the environmental movement over a peace deal struck between three major green groups and the veneer producer Ta Ann Tasmania. Source: ABC News
Ta Ann’s executive director Evan Rolley said the “market compact” means the Malaysian-owned business should be able to survive any change in forest policy after Saturday’s state election.
It commits green groups to supporting Ta Ann as long as it processes wood from uncontentious forests.
“They have been to Tokyo and supported our products twice now in the markets in the last 12 months,” Rolley said.
“Our compact with them is outside of the formal agreement itself and that compact commits that we will only process wood from the agreed supply areas and in return they will support us in the markets.
“We have no intention as a business in changing from that position.”
He hopes the deal will help the company survive if the Liberal Party wins government and follows through on a promise to rip up the peace deal.
Liberal Leader Will Hodgman is sticking by the pledge, saying his party can ensure Ta Ann has a supply of wood from non-contentious areas.
He is yet to detail how the party plans to open up more forest for the industry when he dismantles the forest peace deal.
Rolley still wants the Liberals to keep the agreement, saying it is what the markets demand.
The Premier, Lara Giddings, said the revelation about a separate peace deal shows the TFA should be left alone.
Giddings said the peace deal has worked and Labor is sticking to the agreement.
“Doesn’t this say a lot to you that industry are desperate enough to look at how they can continue the conversations with the environmental movement, they know how important peace and agreements are,” she said.
“We’ve got an agreement, Will Hodgman’s threatening it.”
Hodgman said Giddings does not have a handle on the forest industry.
“The Liberals are the only ones who have a policy to support the industry, to provide resource security,” he said.
The major green groups, which struck the agreement with Ta Ann are not commenting.
Anti-logging campaigners are concerned, including Jenny Weber from the Huon Valley Environment Centre.
“Ta Ann is one company, there are many other companies who are taking timber out of Tasmania’s forests into the marketplace,” she said.
Weber has also questioned whether there are checks in place to ensure Ta Ann is supplied with uncontentious timber.
The former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said the Ta Ann agreement comes with no guarantees, while the Tasmanian Greens leader, Nick McKim, would not be drawn on whether he thinks it is a good idea.
He will only say the TFA should not be dismantled.
“The question before Tasmanians is very clear, most Tasmanians thought we’d moved on from the forest wars,” he said.
“There’s one person, Will Hodgman, who wants to plunge us back into war, back into conflict, back into division, that will actually cost us jobs, not only in the timber industry but right across the economy.”
The state-owned forest manager Forestry Tasmania is refusing to comment on whether Ta Ann’s contracts specifically state where its wood supply is to be sourced.
