Cassy O'Connor MP | Greens Leader and Forests spokesperson
Resources Minister, Paul Harriss, cannot be taken seriously on the State's future energy security following the Basslink breakdown.
Burning trees to produce power is neither green, clean nor sustainable.
Any medium to large biomass generator could only run at a substantial loss and it would come at incredible public expense.
To date, sadly forest biomass burning is the only proposed 'solution' to the State's energy crisis.
In a State with an abundance of solar, wind, geothermal and wave power options to be developed, we don't need forest biomass for energy.
Minister Harriss is putting forward an incredibly unstrategic and backward-thinking attempt at energy policy.
If we were led down this path by the dinosaurs in government, it wouldn't be long before our native forests were being felled for the sole purpose of feeding a hungry biomass plant.
The latest biomass thought bubble is simply code for maintaining and increasing public subsidies to the forest industry in Tasmania.
When will the Government match what the Greens are doing and release a real, forward-thinking plan on how to ensure Tasmania's future energy security and long-term economic wellbeing?