Divisions surround logging proposal

THE State Government has been accused of having another go at whipping up forest conflict before the election via the draft special species management plan.

The plan, created in consultation with the sector, sets out areas where special species may be harvested, across a variety of land tenures including some reserves.

Public submissions on the plan closed on Monday.

Environmentalists and the State Government have offered differing interpretations on whether the plan will allow logging in reserves.

While the Government says further legislation is needed to allow logging in the areas, the environmental movement says logging will be able to take place as soon as the plan is signed off.

In the Greens’ submission on the plan, addressed to Environment Minister Matthew Groom, leader Cassy O’Connor said the plan would undermine the integrity of Tasmania’s reserves system by allowing logging in conservation areas and regional reserves.

“Given the deficits of the draft plan, and its obvious political purpose, we share a widely held view in the community that the move to allow logging inside the Tasmanian Reserve Estate is a deliberate attempt to create division over forests in the lead-up to a state election,” Ms O’Connor said.

She said the Greens did not believe the “majority of fairminded Tasmanians” supported logging inside reserves.

Resources Minister Guy Barnett said the areas in question could have been logged under the former government’s peace deal.

“This is yet another case of incredible hypocrisy from the Greens, who voted to allow special timbers harvesting in the same areas using the same methods as part of their socalled peace deal,” Mr Barnett said.

“The Greens are as usual changing the goalposts to try and lock up more of the state,” he said.