Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens' Leader and Forests spokesperson
356 000 hectares of the most beautiful, carbon rich forests on the planet have won a temporary reprieve from the Liberals' destructive, divisive logging plan.
A majority of MLCs saw straight through a nasty, highly political piece of legislation to reignite forest conflict, and rejected it.
The Liberals did not have a mandate to log high conservation value, carbon rich forests and reignite forest conflict but the Upper House does have an enduring mandate to be a House of review.
Minister Barnett can spit the dummy and blame MLCs, but this is all on his head.
He is the person who decided to ignore the concerns of industry and use the legislative process for purely political purposes to create division.
Mr Barnett failed to argue the case for his divisive legislation and it did not have the support of the industry, environment movement or the broader community.
We believe most Tasmanians want high conservation value, carbon-rich forests protected. We believe they don't want a return to the days of conflict, but that's what the Liberals are offering.
These mighty forests have won a brief reprieve from the Liberals' rabid anti-environmentalism. They are far from safe.
The Greens, along with the wider conservation movement, will continue to defend these extraordinary natural treasures and the value they give to the Tasmanian brand.
It's what we've always done, and will continue to do.