The Greens want to get their hands on key documents relating to the planned logging of several possible native forests across Tasmania.
During last year’s election campaign, the Liberals pledged to “unlock” up to 40,000 hectares of the 356,000 hectares set aside in 2014 within Tasmania’s native forestry ‘Wood Bank’.
27 parcels of Future Potential Production Forest land in the north-east and north-west have been identified as “suitable for conversion back to production forest”, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said at the time.
Now, the Greens say a recent report undertaken by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment into five priority logging areas should be made public.
“It’s very clear from the information that [Resources] Minister Eric Abetz has five parcels of land, precious protected forests, that he’s intending to go into and log and burn,” leader Rosalie Woodruff said.
“Tasmanians have got a right to know which of their precious forests are up for the chop and we want him to release that.”
Woodruff also accused Labor of being in “lockstep” with the state government on logging plans, an alliance that effectively bypasses opposition from the Greens in the House of Assembly.
Labor’s Josh Willie said the party has offered a “bipartisan approach” on forestry with the Liberals to support the industry’s wants and needs.
The industry, through the Forest Products Association lobby group, has previously expressed disappointment with the Wood Bank policy.
“We unashamedly back the industry. There is no secret deal. This is a complete beat-up by the Greens who want to start the forest wars,” Willie said.
“It’s the Liberal Party that’s inviting a return to the forestry wars purely for political reasons and it’s The Greens and the Bob Brown Foundation that will benefit.”
“It won’t be workers, it won’t be businesses and it won’t be Tasmanians in regional areas.”
The state government said it is continuing to work through the process of identifying forests for unlocking.
