17th Aug 2015 – Senate Motions - Tasmania: Timber Industry - Support

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Queensland Senator Barry O'Sullivan (Nationals), which means it succeeded. Motions like these don't make any legal changes on their own, but are politically influential because they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) That the Tasmanian specialty timber industry accounts for over 2 000 full time equivalent jobs, thousands more part time hobbyists and contributes over $70 million a year to the state's economy,

(ii) the support of both the Tasmanian Premier (Mr Hodgman) and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Green) for the long term sustainability of the iconic specialty timber industry, and

(iii) That the Australian Greens and the Australian Labor Party previously supported the continued low impact harvesting of special species timber in the 2013 extension of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area; and

(b) calls on the Australian Greens to abandon their policy backflip and work with the Tasmanian Government to protect the future of the mostly small scale businesses that produce high value products that embody the essence of Tasmania's culture and history.