Right to Information documents* released to the Greens reveal the forest industry have been in secret talks with the Liberals to open up 356,000ha of high conservation, carbon bank forests set aside for protection under the Tasmanian Forest Agreement.
These RTI documents confirm the industry has been planning to go into these forests for at least a year, a fact that’s been actively hidden by the Liberals.
In a time of climate emergency, when we need to protect carbon stores, the Liberals and their industry partners are colluding to log Tasmania’s independently assessed high conservation value forests.
In Budget Estimates this year, then-Minister, Sarah Courtney dodged questions about whether industry had expressed an interest in logging the 356,000ha of future reserve TFA forests.
That was in June and the industry had approached Ms Courtney, as Minister, the previous November.
These forests are home to any number of threatened species, including the critically endangered swift parrot, and have been independently assessed for their conservation values.
The documents confirm industry wants to transfer one high conservation value forest for another and then log the takayna/Tarkine ‘forever’ – all after they took millions from the taxpayer to exit native forest logging under the TFA.
In a climate emergency, allowing or encouraging this logging is criminal.
These future reserve forests will be on the chopping block from April next year. The Greens will stand with every Tasmanian ready to defend them from the Liberals and a mendicant native forest logging industry.
