As one of the nation’s major political parties, it is enormously disappointing that the Australian Greens are attacking federal public servants for simply producing a series of information videos covering Australia’s sustainable native forestry industry.
The videos, titled, ‘Australian Forestry, Planning for tomorrow, today’, are available via the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment’s website and can be viewed .
Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) Chief Executive Officer Ross Hampton said the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment should be congratulated for adding facts to the conversation, rather than being attacked in this nonsensical way.
“These videos are 100 per cent factual and will be an important resource for students and all those seeking to better understand Australia’s forest industries,” Mr Hampton said.
“If the Greens wish to be taken seriously in environmental matters they must deal with facts and not simply attack the public service when its message doesn’t suit their agenda.”
“Our homes and offices need both plantation timber for pine framing for our housesm and the appearance grade hardwoods we get from modest, sustainable use of a small number of native trees. This hardwood native timber makes the products we love such as doors, windows, tables, benchtops and floors.”
The video makes the evidence-based point that “every tree we use is regrown and replaced”, however, the Greens’ forestry spokesperson, Senator Janet Rice, is calling for this positive message .
“In fact, in Australia we only use about 4 native trees out of 10,000 every year, and every tree used is replaced through regeneration,” Mr Hampton said.
“This is the gold standard for sustainable forestry practices globally, yet the Greens – who presumably also wish to halt deforestation in countries with poor environmental standards – have never explained how closing down native forestry in Australia will not result in yet more deforestation in other countries.”
“Forestry supports thousands of regional jobs. It also beggars belief that at a time of high unemployment the Greens are wanting to add native forestry jobs to the dole queue,” Mr Hampton concluded.
