Media Release

Peter Gutwein MP
Shadow Minister for Forestry

Wednesday 11th May, 2011

Labor and the Greens starving forest industry to death

Labor and the Greens are literally starving our forest industry to death by allowing the disastrous Statement of Principles process to continue.

It is unbelievable that nearly 12 months since the disastrous Statement of Principles process was initiated by the Green-Labor Government, it was only decided yesterday that modelling of options for the future of the industry would occur.

The Government should be providing leadership on this issue, but instead they are focussed on their own self-preservation.

Far from providing the hundreds of millions of dollars the industry believes will be needed should the disastrous Statement of Principles process continue on, last night’s federal budget provided only $300,000 in funds which will do nothing more than prolong the uncertainty.

Meanwhile our forest contractors continue to bleed, investment in the industry has ground to a halt and Federal Ministers are suggesting that contractors and their workers should leave the state to find work elsewhere.

The Government has abrogated its responsibilities for this $1.4 billion sector of our economy to an unelected group of big business, big environment and big unions. We do not support the process, we think it is flawed and will do nothing to grow one of our most viable industries.

It’s time the Government stepped up and provided the leadership necessary to abandon this disastrous plan and instead adopt the Liberals’ balanced, 13 point plan which will protect jobs and the environment.