Forestry talks in Tasmania are creating more and more derision among those involved. Over the past week the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania (FIAT) and the Australian Forest Contractors Association walked away from the talks while Forestry Tasmania chairman Miles Hampton resigned from his position. Sources: ABC News, The Mercury
Mr Hampton had only been in the position for just three weeks and resigned over the State Government’s restructuring plan for the Forestry Tasmania.
He said he could no longer support the policies of the Government and accused it of trying to starve Forestry Tasmania of cash.
Resources Minister Bryan Green wants to create a statutory authority to take control of production forests from Forestry Tasmania. Mr Hampton said the decision was not in the best interests of the company and would result in its complete emasculation.
In a scripted statement, Mr Hampton said he had lost faith in the Government because it had broken assurances the company would retain control of production forests.
Mr Hampton also used his statement to accuse the Government of starving the company of cash in order to justify bringing Forestry Tasmania under ministerial control.
The Government had led him to believe the company would be left to continue as a stand alone entity but there had since been an “about face”.
“I do not believe that the Government has any intention of establishing a viable forestry business through its proposed restructuring of Forestry Tasmania,” he said.
FIAT is refusing to rejoin the talks because the State Government has broken that same promise over the restructure of Forestry Tasmania.
Minister Green said he had found a “sensible” solution that he hoped would see FIAT remain at the table. But FIAT’s chief executive Terry Edwards says the pledge falls “substantially short” of what industry needs to continue in the peace talks.
Mr Edwards said the State Government had made commitments that production forests would remain with Forestry Tasmania. Members voted unanimously to stay out of the peace talks until the Government fulfil its original pledge.
“When we signed the interim agreement we had been assured that the expectations we had about forest management would be met,” he said.
“We had been assured that. That assurance now hasn’t been honoured and as a result the Government has now got the situation they now find themselves in.”
Mr Edwards said the association would stay out of the talks for four weeks to give Mr Green time to change his mind.
“I want to give the Government a genuine opportunity to resolve this problem.”
“I don’t want to talk about destroying these talks.
“The process is still there, we’re committed to continue to use that process to try and produce an outcome but we will not do it in circumstances where we cannot be assured that any outcome will be durable and this is, in that contest, a key durability issue.”
“The Greens are not prepared to support those forests remaining with Forestry Tasmania,” Greens leader Nick McKim said.
The Australian Forest Contractors Association also walked out of the talks because of the plan to restructure Forestry Tasmania and hand control of native forests to an independent body.
Forest Contractors Association spokesman Ken Padgett said the issue threatened to torpedo a lasting peace in the state’s forests.
“Sadly, Mr McKim’s ideological drive to destroy Forestry Tasmania is now a key sticking point that stands in the way of the genuine attempts to achieve a durable peace,” said Padgett.
