An ENGO paper alleging that the Liberal Government's Forestry Bill threatens Forest Stewardship Council certification is wrong.
You don't need to take the Government's word for that; you need only accept the written advice of FSC International.
On the issue of the FSC Policy for Association, the Managing Director of FSC International has advised the Premier: 'We do not see an application of the Policy for Association at this point in time.'
In other words, FSC itself has demolished the ENGO claims regarding the Policy for Association.
The FSC International letter also confirms that: 'We now understand that there is a strong commitment by the Government towards the maintenance of High Conservation Values in non-certified forest areas.' This further undermines the ENGO assertions.
The Bill before Parliament does not make any substantive change to the management of Conservation Areas and Regional Reserves. The Nature Conservation Act enables the 'controlled use of natural resources'. That has not changed since the Act was proclaimed in 2002. There was some clarification in the Forest Management Act 2013, and some further clarification is provided in the current Bill, but there is NO change to the substance of the Nature Conservation Act provisions.
The Liberal Government strongly supports Forestry Tasmania's bid for FSC certification. That requires FT to demonstrate that it meets the certification standards required by FSC as assessed by an independent auditor. Stakeholder engagement is important and the Government encourages people who want to contribute to make their views known.
However, it is not a popularity contest and, unlike the disastrous Tasmanian Forest Agreement process of the former Labor-Green Government, the ENGOs do not have a power of veto.
The ENGOs should accept the democratic decision of the people at the State election in March and acknowledge that the Liberal Government has a decisive mandate to implement its policies.
We would welcome their engagement as long as it is constructive and assists us to grow the industry, not to shut it down.