A recent Federal Government investigation into timber imports underlines the reality that if consumers want to be certain in buying sustainably produced wood, they should buy Australian.
Minister for Business, Industry and Resources, Eric Abetz, said the investigation found that one quarter of timber products imported into Australia have inaccurate species and origin claims, including multiple instances of undeclared veneers and solid timber products with potential Russian origins.
"It is ironic that groups like the Bob Brown Foundation and the Wilderness Society, in their rush to promote the banning of sustainably-harvested native Tasmanian timber, are effectively promoting the use of imported timber of potentially dubious origin," said Minister Abetz.
"The mind boggles that in the choice between sustainable Tasmanian timber and imported timber from who-knows-where – including unlabelled Russian timber – extremists would prefer the latter.
"Tasmanians can be well pleased with our forestry industry, with both native and plantation timber harvested under our world-class forest practices system, ensuring the ongoing sustainability of our public forest estate.
"In contrast to Labor Governments around the country which have betrayed timber communities, our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania's Future supports forestry and its 5700 direct and indirect jobs, and we urge Australians to buy local.
"We are opening up the Future Potential Production Forest "wood bank", increasing high-quality sawlog supply to Tasmanian industry, supporting our iconic special species timber sector and supercharging on-island processing with an additional $5 million.
"We make no apologies for backing the State's sustainable and job-rich timber industry."
