Forest Industries of Tasmania

Greens Forest Policy - More of the Same

10 Mar 2010

The Tasmanian Green Forests Transition Strategy demonstrates they have not moved
from their ideological policy position of destroying jobs within the Tasmanian forest
industry and a refusal to accept scientific findings that do not accord with that
aspiration.

Chief Executive of the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania said the Greens
policy promise of a net increase of 542 jobs was at best fanciful and dramatically
understated the adverse employment impact of the proposed new reserve system.

“It is voodoo economics to suggest that removing in excess of 140,000 ha of the
highest quality forest that would produce the native forest material for furniture
manufacturers, joinery manufacturers, the craft industry and builders and replacing it
with plantation grown hardwood could create jobs,” Mr Edwards said.

The Greens entire policy positioning in this election is riven with internal
inconsistencies such that it is difficult to treat them as a serious broadly based political
party, i.e.

• Their “buy outs not bail outs” policy provides $20m to get forest contractors and
  their employees out of work – funded by a tax on woodchip exports from State
  forests of $3 per tonne - but

- their Fiscal Strategy states – “no new taxes”;
- such a tax would be unlawful;
- their Forest Transition Strategy proposes the abolition of woodchip exports;
- It would require 2.5 million tonnes of woodchips to be sourced from native forests annually – which they oppose;

• The Green Forest Transition Strategy says it would grow the special timbers
  sector - but
    - the proposed new reserves encompass virtually the entire range of
  special species in the State.
• The Forest Transition Strategy proposes substituting high quality native forest
  sawlogs with plantation grown logs
  - extensive research by CSIRO, CRC for Forestry and University of
  Tasmania demonstrates that plantation wood is not a realistic substitute
  for native forest sawlogs for high quality outputs.

An independent analysis by Symetrics Business Intelligence of the impact of removing
the highest quality native forest resource clearly shows the job losses to be in the
order of 2080 not the 300 claimed by the Greens.

“This policy, which is virtually unchanged from previous Greens Forest Policies, is
clear demonstration that Nick McKim remains joined at the hip with the extreme
environmental groups whom he has silenced during the election campaign – this policy
is their reward,” Mr Edwards said.

“The one clear outcome of the election campaign has been the deafening silence of
The Wilderness Society, Environment Tasmania and Still Wild, Still Threatened who in
the past would be conducting forest protest activities at this time of year.”
“It is clear Mr McKim has demanded their silence.”

The Greens Forest Transition Strategy is another in a long line of Green forest policies
that have as their centrepiece the destruction of forest industry jobs and the
undermining of forest industry viability.

“The Greens have again demonstrated they are a single issue party with absolutely no
economic credentials and a myopic intent to destroy the Tasmanian forest industry,”
Mr Edwards said.