Forestry failure unsustainable
BACK in June 2015, Treasurer Peter Gutwein promised “the Hodgman Liberal Government has stopped the support to Forestry Tasmania from the Budget and it will not receive one red cent from the Consolidated Fund for its commercial operations”. I don’t know whether you noticed, but the one cent coin was withdrawn from circulation some time ago. So was the credibility of policy announcements regarding subsidies to Tasmanian forestry. Minister Barnett’s recent media release on last year’s financial result is a case in point.
Nowhere does the word “loss” appear. Instead, we are told that the bottom line is $41 million better than last year. Maybe the media release could have mentioned that there was actually a loss of $24 million. Then there is the sale of a valuable plantation asset to repay debt, with a bit left over to spend on hospitals. That sounds like great news. It is a bit like selling the furniture to pay off the credit card with a bit left over to pay for the groceries. Come to think of it, the $30 million from TasNetworks could also have been paid into the Consolidated Fund and spent on hospitals instead of a transfer to Forestry Tasmania.
Then there is the small matter of the superannuation liability of $113 million that has been transferred to taxpayers. That does not get mentioned in the media release. I don’t know what they were smoking when the media release was prepared, but it reads like a script from the ABC comedy Utopia. paigns opposing horse racing is misleading or wrong. A horse vet and PhD student, Dr Meredith Flash, presented her research that 50 per cent of horses that raced were rehomed, a quarter became Australian Stud Book bloodstock, 14 per cent deceased, 9 per cent went on to other pursuits while 2 per cent were still racing at the start of their tenth racing season.
Readers can be assured that the welfare of all racing animals in Tasmania is a core priority for Tasracing. Our strict animal welfare policies ensure the welfare of all animals is protected at all times when racing and training. An economic impact statement found owners invested more than $40 million in the preparation of racehorses and greyhounds for racing. The same report said the industry was directly responsible for sustaining just under 1000 full-time jobs.
The Tasmanian racing industry delivers considerable economic and social benefits and Tasracing will continue to defend the industry and the good people in it. are. If we want thoughtful, planned cities that blend history and progress, for residents to live in, thrive in and enjoy, and not just tourists (ahem fragrance monstrosity and cable car delusion), then let’s do something different. Goodness knows the Liberals’ “plan”, if there even is one, isn’t working. Maybe they’ve been too busy frothing at the mouth with indignation at the possibility of their constituents having equal rights. How unimaginably awful! Helen Burnet is right. State architect please! As soon as possible!