Tasmanian Labor opposed workplace protection legislation
Tasmania’s State Opposition has been accused of feigning their support for forestry. Resources Minister Guy Barnett said that the Tasmanian Government was the strongest supporter of our renewable, sustainable forestry industry, which contributes around $1.2 billion to the Tasmanian economy and provides thousands of direct and indirect jobs, many in regional communities. Source: Timberbiz
“After seven years of ignoring workers and productive industries, Labor is now trying to spin Tasmanians into thinking they support our forestry sector, but we all know the truth,” he said.
“Tasmania’s forestry sector will never forget the thousands of jobs lost because Labor and the Greens locked up our productive forests through their disastrous Tasmanian Forests Agreement.
“Tasmanian workers won’t forget that the current Opposition Leader Rebecca White famously said she has no regrets about the job losses that occurred under the Labor-Green forest deal.
“More than 4000 jobs disappeared under this disastrous deal – two out of three jobs in the industry at the time,” Mr Barnett said.
“Labor also continues to abandon Tasmanian workers when it opposes our Workplace Protection laws.
“It was this Liberal Government that committed at the election to continue to work with Sustainable Timber Tasmania to ensure long-term resource security for sawmills across the State, following the next Sustainable Yield Report due in 2022,” he said.
“Only this Liberal Government truly supports the 5,700 forestry jobs in this State.”
Meanwhile Tasmanian Forest Products Association CEO Nick Steel says the budget response from the Tasmanian Greens has missed a very important point.
“Tasmania’s diverse and modern forestry industry already plays a vital role in the solution to climate change, and as an industry we are investing heavily to understand how we can become even more efficient at removing carbon from the atmosphere,” he said.
“The Greens claim that ceasing the small volumes of native forestry that is conducted in Tasmania would somehow provide more of a solution is simply going against the science.
“The Greens budget also fails to recognise that Tasmania has the highest percentages of forest protection in the world.”
Mr Steel said that the majority of Tasmania’s forests, more than 1.7 million hectares, is permanently locked up in formal reserves on public land.
“We are doing our part but we can do much more, as Tasmania’s gift to the world is more than just the carbon stored in our vast native forests,” he said.
“It’s also the carbon stored in our house frames, oak floors, kitchen benches and furniture. It is our thriving plantation sector, our renewable forest resources, our fibre as a replacement to plastic waste and our sustainable forestry practices.
“We welcome the Greens to take a fresh look at what is being done in our industry and join with us as forestry works to be a critical part of the solution.”
