Another day, another bout of blunders by Dr. Broad at Estimates.
Time and again he again shows he doesn’t understand the forestry sector in Tasmania and continues to feign support for the sector; a sector his Party decimated when they were last in Government with the Greens.
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is the strongest supporter of our $1.2 billion sustainable forestry industry that supports our economy and provides thousands of jobs, many in regional communities.
Our commitments to the sector continue to be met, contrary to Dr. Broad’s claims.
Mr. Broad should know that whilst the Government sets the regulatory framework, Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT) manages its own land and under legislation enters into wood supply agreements with sawmillers directly.
As was outlined in the Parliament last week, the regulatory requirement of STT is to make available 137,000m3 of high-quality sawlog to the sector - that has not changed.
The Tasmanian forestry sector still reels from days of the Labor/Greens Government when they slashed access to timber under their shameful Tasmanian Forest Agreement. More than 4,000 jobs were lost under this disastrous deal – two out of three jobs in the industry at the time.
Dr. Broad would do well to stop playing politics with an area he doesn’t understand.