The Greens have once again demonstrated they will shift the goal posts and ignore their own words to suit their anti-jobs agenda.
Claims by the Greens that a 60 tree specialty-timber harvest from an area of our permanent timber production forests is akin to mass destruction is extraordinarily disingenuous, given it was Bob Brown himself who backed the provision of agreed areas for specialty timbers.
In The Examiner in 2011, the then Greens Leader said:
"The Greens have always wanted to provide for specialty timbers for craft work, furnishings, the things Tasmania are so famous for and proud of, in an ongoing forestry industry."*
In fact, the permanent timber production land in the Que River area has previously been utilised for selective harvest, and was set aside for timber production as agreed by Labor and the Greens.
It was also Bob Brown who publicly endorsed the agreed areas and their use: “to be set aside for sustainable selective logging of high-quality, specialty timbers.”**
While the Tasmanian majority Liberal Government is committed to supporting our sustainable forestry industry, left decimated by the Labor/Green Government, they are now missing the opportunity to acknowledge the industry is simply following the actions agreed upon by all political parties and is producing the high-quality, specialty timber products Tasmania is renowned for.
Unlike Labor and the Greens who turned their back on forestry workers and their families, we are the strongest supporter of our forestry industry, which contributes some $1.2 billion to our economy and employs more than 5,700 people through direct and indirect jobs, many in regional areas.
Our forestry workers deserve to be able to go to work safely, without the threat and disruption of irresponsible, unsafe protest action.
*https://www.examiner.com.au/story/433592/dispute-over-supply-of-specialty-timber/: