Forest talks: Agreement a matter of time

Signatories to the Tasmanian Forests agreement have been locked in intensive negotiations for weeks.

An outcome acceptable to the environment groups, forestry industry groups and unions involved hasn’t yet been reached. But we are yet to agree that we can’t agree!

All parties do agree that more time is needed. The Wilderness Society is still optimistic that, with patience and good faith, a solution can be found.

With this in mind, the parties have agreed to extend the deadline until 23 July.

This extra time will allow practical trials to see if the forestry industry may be able to use a wider range of wood, cut from a smaller area of forest - freeing up space for more forest reserves to be declared.

Conservation groups are also exploring complex conservation and wood supply data presented by the Government-auspiced expert group.

Only one thing is certain - it won’t be easy. But we’ll be working hard to give the talks every chance of reaching agreement.

By July 23, we should know if this negotiation can deliver real protection for the forests we’ve long stood up for.

Read the joint statement from signatories