Environment groups welcome start of moratorium and appointment of facilitator

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
15 December 2010

Environment groups have welcomed the Federal and Tasmanian Governments’ appointment of Bill Kelty as facilitator to implement the Tasmanian Forest Statement of Principles and starting the moratorium of logging in high conservation value forests.

“We welcome Bill Kelty’s appointment to facilitate this process. Bill Kelty has earned enormous respect in Australia over the past three decades as a pioneer of major economic reform. Delivering on the statement of principles will require a major restructure of the timber industry and the protection of Tasmania’s native forests – a very difficult but crucial economic reform for the future of our state,” said Dr Phill Pullinger, Director of Environment Tasmania.

“Today, 15 December 2010, marks the beginning of the process to deliver, within 90 days, a full moratorium on logging in Tasmania’s high conservation value forests as outlined in the Statement of Principles. Today’s announcement will help to give the community confidence that this process can bring an end to the decades-long conflict that has torn Tasmania apart,” said Paul Oosting from the Wilderness Society.

“After a lot of hard work between environment groups, the timber industry and unions it is great to see both governments now taking action to begin implementing the historic agreement. This is the beginning of a crucial but undoubtedly difficult process of implementation to turn what has been promised into reality,” said Lindsay Hesketh from the Australian Conservation Foundation.