Media Release

Peter Gutwein MP
Shadow Minister for Forestry

Thursday 2nd June, 2011

Another Giddings gaffe – Giddings welcomes the loss of hundreds of forestry jobs

“That is good news...it’s fine” – Lara Giddings, 1st June 2011

In another “Giddings gaffe”, Lara Giddings has again demonstrated how out of touch she is with Tasmanian families by welcoming Gunns’ announcement yesterday that they will close their hardwood sawmills, costing up to 350 direct jobs, saying it is “good news”.

While the Liberals want to see the pulp mill built, I’ve got news for Ms Giddings – the 350 directly affected workers, their families and their communities don’t think it’s “good news” that they could be losing their jobs very soon as a result.

The fact is, Ms Giddings and the Green-Labor Government are indirectly responsible for these likely jobs losses because of their endorsement of the disastrous Statement of Principles, which expressly prohibits the reallocation of Gunns’ timber entitlements to new industry players, and instead agrees to lock it all up.*

Who is going to buy a sawmill without a timber resource, Ms Giddings?

In contrast, under the Liberals’ balanced, 13 point forestry plan, the majority of Gunns’ timber entitlement will remain available even after Gunns exits native forestry, allowing a new operator to purchase Gunns’ hardwood sawmills as a going concern, thereby protecting the 350 jobs now under threat because of Lara Giddings’ being captive to the Greens and the disastrous Statement of Principles.

I call on Ms Giddings to apologise to those workers and their families she insulted yesterday, and to intervene to ensure that ongoing wood supply is made available to the Gunns’ hardwood mills, enabling them to be sold as going concerns, and protecting the 350 jobs now under threat.

*“Not to accept new parties into the Tasmanian industry, nor enter into new contractual relationships beyond parties who are in current contractual relationships with the state while the negotiations are currently underway unless by mutual agreement of all parties” (Statement of Principles, 14/10/2010)