The Hodgman government must rule out lobbying for native forest logging waste and biomass to be included in the Renewable Energy Target, or admit they will be locking in ongoing public subsidisation of the logging industry, Greens Leader and Energy spokesperson Kim Booth MP said today.
“Including the burning of timber waste generated by industrial scale logging of our native forests into the RET will lock in an unviable logging business model and lock in ongoing public subsidies to prop it up,” Mr Booth said.
“Burning native forests to produce electricity will also cause massive carbon emissions, leaving this generation to pay for the cost and the next generation to pay for the damage with regard to climate change.”
“Public commentators have stated publicly that the inclusion of forestry waste in the RET will not be a panacea for Forestry Tasmania, but would still require public subsidies.”
“The Liberals turned off the rivers of gold , estimated between 70 to 120 million annually, which flowed through to Tasmania, when they abolished the Carbon price and it now seems they want to reverse the flow of gold, out of the public purse and in to subsidising polluting native forest furnaces to produce power we don’t need.”
“The independent Energy Expert Panel identified that Tasmania has a massive surplus of power, the last thing we need is some fool scheme like native forest furnaces.”
“Instead of wasting money on power for no purpose the government should get on with the job of finishing the Royal Hobart Hospital, and supporting schools and community facilities.”
“The proposition by both the Liberal and Labor parties to include native forest furnaces in the RET is stone age thinking and it is very worrying that neither party seems to understand the either the economic or environmental costs.”
“It dooms our magnificent high conservation value and old growth forests to the furnace, and the Treasurer may as well throw in $100 dollar notes with it.”
“The Hodgman government needs to come clean over the fact that the inclusion of native forests logging waste and biomass into the RET will start to drive demand with the prime purpose of their logging becoming the need to feed furnaces,” Mr Booth said.