Lead environmental campaigner from the Bob Brown foundation, Jenny Weber has belled the cat on Labor with her revelation that the Green movement are pressuring Labor to support the creation of a Tarkine National Park.*
There's no doubt that the Greens are emboldened by Labor's capitulation to them on pokies, and now see Labor confirmed as a soft touch for more lock-ups.
Labor and the Greens have form in this area, with the disastrous so-called Forestry Peace deal locking-up large areas of the State and destroying regional jobs and industries in the process.
Locking up the Tarkine would cost the State upwards of $150 million in mining and exploration investment over 20 years, and a further $250 million in the value of native forest harvesting over the next 20 years.
Unlike Labor and the Greens, the Hodgman Liberal Government understands there can be balance between industry and preserving Tasmania’s natural heritage, and we won't be supporting the creation of a Tarkine national park.
*The Mercury, 2 January, 2018.