Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has challenged the Albanese Government to back some of Australia’s leading forest scientists who support the native hardwood timber industry.
Speaking in Federal Parliament, Mr Chester said environmental activists had hijacked the debate with ‘pet scientists’ who had been ‘bought off to promote this religious ideology that all timber harvesting is bad’.
Mr Chester said the bans on native timber harvesting in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia meant more imports were needed to meet local demand.
“Labor has demonstrated complete and utter contempt for the forest industry in Australia over the past 20 years. Driven by their desperate need to secure Green preferences in the city they have sold out blue-collar workers in regional communities, thousands of jobs have been lost, communities have been destroyed and the regions are less safe because we have lost the equipment and the skilled workforce which we’ve always relied on during major bushfire events,” Mr Chester said.
“This is all in the name of political science. This has nothing to do with the environment.
“We have a world-class sustainable native hardwood timber industry in Australia which delivers social, economic, cultural and environmental benefits for our nation, and those timber workers provide invaluable skills and practical support to their communities during times of natural disasters, particularly bushfires.
“The sustainable native hardwood timber industry is part of the answer to reducing Australia’s carbon emissions, as timber products actually sequester carbon in our floorboards, furniture and other products.”
Mr Chester quoted from scientists who are experienced in the management of native forests to counter the misinformation which has been spread by environmental activists.
“Some of Australia’s leading forest scientists have acknowledged we have the knowledge, the practical skills and the regulatory framework to sustainably manage our native forest, including for timber harvesting in small, carefully targeted areas,” Mr Chester said.
“This is not dodgy science from environmental activists who they buy to get a compliant voice and mouthpiece to trump up their unfounded claims; these are real scientists with peer reviewed papers and years of practical experience.
“Their work has warned against using selective and unbalanced studies, along with rejecting theoretical claims in relation to timber harvesting increasing the intensity of wildfire or reducing water catchment yields.
“People and native animals die because of poorly managed forests, and the Labor-Greens aren’t just killing industry, they are killing regional communities.”
