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Don’t threaten Tasmanian peace Abbott

A key timber industry figure that signed up to Tasmania’s forest peace deal has warned Tony Abbott against any plan to win back World Heritage listings in the state. Sources: News.com.au, ABC News

Chief executive of the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania (FIAT), Terry Edwards, said an attempt at downsizing World Heritage listed-forests would threaten the historic agreement between the industry and environmentalists.

The coalition’s recently released economic plan for the state says it will seek to remove a 170,000-hectare extension granted in June.

The state’s upper house voted to create a first tranche of 100,000 hectares of reserves with a larger majority than passed the original legislation.

It unlocked $97 million of government money to help restructure the ailing industry.

A total of 500,000 hectares will be protected under the agreement.

Edwards has received a letter from Abbott assuring him the money will flow if a coalition government is elected on September 7.

But the FIAT boss said the opposition leader needed to go further following the upper house vote.

“If they are trying to read the tea leaves and believe this is where the strength is in the election campaign, they might need to reassess,” Edwards told reporters in Hobart.

“We wouldn’t be supportive of a move to wind back World Heritage.

“This agreement is now starting to deliver on its promise and it needs to be given the opportunity to do that.”

Another of the peace negotiators, Environment Tasmania’s Dr Phill Pullinger, backed the call.

“It would clearly be counter-productive to the spirit and intent of what we’re trying to achieve here and the positive progress that’s been made,” he said.

Tasmania’s Liberal state opposition has promised to tear up the agreement if it wins a state poll next March.

But Edwards said he believed Abbott could be softening his stance.

“I took a fair bit of comfort from the correspondence from Tony Abbott,” he said.
“I think it’s couched in much more conciliatory language than their original policy position.”

Edwards said he would be taking the message to the Liberals and Greens leader Christine Milne, who has also questioned the agreement, that is was beginning to work.

Senator Milne appeared to soften her stance when she congratulated environmentalists involved in the negotiations on Friday.

Abbott’s Coalition would set up a joint economic council with the Tasmanian Government and state business representatives, headed by businessman, Dale Elphinstone if elected.

Abbott said the council would drive competition and meet quarterly for the first
18 months of a Coalition government.

He promised to appoint a Tasmanian to his front bench.

“It’s a beautiful state but I want it to be a working state as well as just a beautiful state and at the moment the Tasmanian economy is depressed,” Abbott said.

“At the moment we’ve got unemployment some two and a half percentage points above the national average and it’s very important that Tasmanians take the chance to say no to the Labor-Green Government, a big opportunity to say no.”

State Labor’s relationship with the Greens will be an issue at the March state election.

“So I know it’s been hard for Labor, but constructively collectively, we’ve actually been able to work through one of the most divisive issues Tasmania has ever seen and that’s in forestry,” said O’Connor.

“I know it’s come at some political cost to Labor but it took real leadership for
Labor to engage in the Tasmanian forest agreement process.”