Tasmania’s incoming premier Will Hodgman is demanding green groups accept the Liberal party has a mandate to reboot the state’s logging industry. Sources: AAP, ABC
Hodgman used his first media conference since his election to declare environmentalists will no longer hold Tasmania “to ransom”.
“I would hope that the environmental movement accepts the will of the people, accept that there is a new way of doing business when it comes to our forest industry, accept that the Liberal party and new government will not be held to ransom by a minority group”.
The new government has promised to rip up a peace deal between green groups and the timber industry, which aimed to end 30 years of conflict.
Hodgman will meet industry representatives and is already under pressure from some of them to also speak with environment groups, and to maintain the deal.
The peace deal secured the endorsement of the struggling timber industry by environmentalists in return for the protection of around 500,000 hectares of forest.
The deal committed millions of dollars to downsize the industry and create alternative jobs.
Hodgman also appeared to have backed away from a comment during the election campaign that he would also be open to meeting environmentalists.
“If people aren’t going to resile from their positions of just rampant opposition to seeing the forest industry grow, but worse still threaten increased protest activity, to not reflect and respect the views of Tasmanians who voted on Saturday, then it’s not worth our time having that meeting,” he said.
Tasmania’s first Liberal government in 16 years will be sworn in once polls are declared next week following a crushing victory.
Hodgman said the outcome should be a wake-up call for his opponents.
“The result for Labor and Greens was right up there when it comes to poor performance,” he said.
“It’s about time Labor and the Greens started listening to Tasmanians.
“They were sent a very clear message on the weekend – they are no longer the government and there is a new way of doing business in this state.”
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the federal government will work constructively with the new Tasmanian Liberal government to achieve a “renaissance” in the state’s timber industry.
Abbott said the Commonwealth wanted 74,000 hectares taken out of the Tasmanian World Heritage listing on the grounds that it comprised degraded, logged or plantation timber.
“We just don’t see the sense in trying to lock up land which is either degraded, logged or plantation timber,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“We want to see a renaissance of forestry in Tasmania.
“We will work very constructively with the new state government to try to make that happen,” he said.
In her concession speech on Saturday night, outgoing Labor premier Lara Giddings urged Premier Will Hodgman not to tear up the Tasmanian forestry agreement signed in 2012 to end 30 years of conflict between conservationists and the timber industry.
Abbott said a curious feature of the Labor-Green government in Tasmania was its relentless hostility to the forest industry.
“Timber is sustainable, renewable green resource and we should be making more and better use of timber, not trying to consign the timber industry of Tasmania and the timber industry of our country to our history,” he said.
The Tasmanian Liberals can only undo the deal with the support of the Federal Government.
