Timber industry using old-style tactics for old-style politicians

The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc
Media Release
18 March 2010

Today’s planned stunt by timber industry groups is simply a shallow re-run of a similar 2006 election stunt, according to the Wilderness Society.

A  ‘pulp-mill pledge’ organised by the CFMEU and TCA in the lead up to the 2006 election locked candidates into supporting a controversial pulp mill approved through fast-track legislation, despite the mill not meeting all environmental guidelines.
 
“This stunt is just another example of logging companies dictating policy positions to politicians. Instead of showing vision and understanding the causes of the current crisis in the logging industry, these industry groups are trying to lock them into old-style policies the community doesn’t want and the industry doesn’t need,” said Vica Bayley, spokesperson for the Wilderness Society.

“International markets are turning their back on Tasmania’s native forest logging industry and we need serious reform, not bullying tactics that put the interests of logging companies ahead of ordinary Tasmanians.

“The RFA and associated forestry policies have not delivered promised security for the logging industry,” said Mr Bayley.

In the lead up to the last state election, all Labor and Liberal candidates signed a CFMEU/TCA pledge committing them to ‘support the construction of a pulp mill…provided it meets the environmental standards set down by the Tasmanian Government’s Environmental Emission Limit Guidelines” (emphasis added). The subsequent SWECO PIC assessment as part of Paul Lennon’s fast-tracked approval showed the pulp mill failed to meet several guidelines.

“The fact that politicians voted for the fast-tracked pulp mill despite its failure to meet necessary guidelines showed that the last pledge was meaningless.
 
“Governance and accountability, particularly in relation to the environment, are key issues in this election. The evidence from the last election shows that elected politicians can and do break promises, especially when big timber company interests are at stake,” Mr Bayley concluded.