Both Federal Labor and the Coalition need to ensure their political support for Australia's sustainable native forestry is clearly communicated. The sector supports the livelihoods of thousands of Australians, while millions more benefit from the essential and sought after products the sector manufactures for our everyday life, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Diana Hallam said today.
"The time has come in this Federal Election Campaign for Federal Labor and the Coalition to express their unequivocal support for Australia's native forestry sector and that they'll stand by that support in the event of a hung parliament next term. These are essential industries that Australia cannot live without and require strong Commonwealth support and a political mandate to operate. We need to know where they stand," Diana Hallam said.
"AFPA's call to the major parties follows the Labor candidate for Bass's unfortunate admission that she wants to shut native forestry down. We acknowledge the comment was walked back and labelled a mistake - but a clear statement from Federal Labor, as well as the Coalition on their support for native forestry, not just in Tasmania, but nationally, is required - just as Prime Minister Albanese and the Coalition provided ahead of the 2022 Federal Election.
"Native forestry operations are governed by the Federal-State Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) framework - thereby both the Commonwealth and States are required to work together and a mandate is required from both levels of government.
"This sector is essential for Australia's sovereign capability in timber and wood-fibre resources, for the manufacturing of essential and everyday products and to underpin many communities that rely on the sector for direct employment and economic activity. Many of those communities are in regional Australia - and indeed, many in the federal electorate of Bass.
"Native forestry has been forced to bear the brunt of constant and unwarranted attacks from radical and so called green activists who are hell bent on wanting to destroy an industry Australia cannot live without.
"Both sides of federal politics need to be united in their support for native forestry. The communities and families that rely on this wonderful sector deserve to have the backing of whichever major Party forms Australia's next Federal Government," Diana Hallam concluded.
