MANDATE MAYHEM

Government vows to take Bills to next election

THE State Government has ramped up the election rhetoric after its second defeat of a key Bill in the Upper House in the space of two days.

The Legislative Council rejected the Government’s Forestry (Unlocking Production Forests) Bill 2017, a day after it voted down a Bill aimed at introducing mandatory jail sentences for child sex offenders.

Resources Minister Guy Barnett vowed to push ahead with forestry laws: “We will seek out a fresh mandate at the next election to unlock these production forests.” MLCs condemned the “lousy Bills”.

THE Liberals say they won’t alter their course on forestry, even after their plan to open more forests to logging failed to pass the Upper House.

The Liberals wanted to open 365,000ha of additional forest land to logging for special species from later this year — and to other users from next year. They argued the additional timber was essential to the industry’s future.

However, a majority of MLCs did not buy the Government’s argument and the Bill was voted down 7-5.

Five independents and Labor’s two MLCs voted against the Government.

The result has defused a conflict over Tasmanian forests for the time being.

Resources Minister Guy Barnett blamed Labor for the Bill’s failure and said the Government would not reconsider its stance on forestry.

“We will seek out a fresh mandate at the next election to unlock these production forests,” he said.

Mr Barnett would not shoulder any blame for the l egislation’s failure.

“We were elected, we have that mandate, we are trying to implement that mandate, it’s being blocked in the Upper House by Labor,” he said.

Mr Barnett said without access to additional timber Forestry Tasmania would need $100 million in subsidies over the next four years or hundreds of jobs would be lost.

Environmentalists and the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania had lobbied against the forestry Bill.

Environmentalists said the expanded logging areas, which had been set aside under the Tasmanian forest peace deal, contained high-conservation forests.

FIAT said the plan would threaten the industry’s future by leading to a return of forest wars.

None of FIAT’s members wanted access to the timber.

However the special species sector and some small sawmills had implored the Government to open new areas.

Tasmanian Special Timbers Alliance spokesman Andrew Denman said the industry’s survival depended on being able to access more timber.

“The Special Timbers sector now faces further uncertainty, and TSTA calls on all sides of politics to support changes to existing legislation to ensure the sector’s survival,” he said.

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the Greens would push for the areas to be protected from logging for good. “This is a two-year reprieve for some of the most spectacular, carbon-rich forests on the planet,” she said.

“For the Liberals and Minister Barnett, this is what happens when you try to use the legislative process for purely political purposes to divide the community. Guy Barnett can throw a tantrum, accuse Labor and malign Upper House members but this all sits on his head.”

Labor resources spokesman David Llewellyn said the Liberals should work constructively with the industry and Labor on a way forward.

“The forestry legislation defeated today in the Legislative Council did not have the support of the vast majority of the forest industry,” Mr Llewellyn said.

“The Government now has a clear choice to either be divisive or constructive.”

The forestry legislation … did not have the support of the vast majority of the forest industry

DAVID LLEWELLYN