jlm said:
As a new-ish Tasmanian resident (2 years) I found the election interesting, mainly because I was used to 2 sided shouting matches back on the mainland not the 3 cornered comp where everything the the mob in the other 2 corners says is ******.
Some rough stats from the bureau (and not quite comparing apples to apples due to the info available and state vs. fed employment )........a shade over 10% of the working population in Tas are employed as public servants.........Back in my old home of QLD the number is a shade under 7. Can't be arsed looking up other states atm. So when the former govt. decides to thin out the public service a bit the state is up in arms. Probably their own fault the way they went about it, all the headlines were about "frontline" jobs and if I can go back to my wife's tenure in the public service in QLD its the layers upon layers of management (one of which she was) she thought needed pruning.
So now Willie's coming in and is going get us back in the black, with only 500 jobs going from public service numbering a bit over 20 000. Can't wait to hear the response from the mob when the Latrobe hospital is shut down (cause seriously......Devonport is too far away).
I think he's probably got it wrong with tearing up the forest peace deal, seems like some in the industry would like it kept (TasChris, you about? Your input could be of use here........don't act like the OP's little statement waving goodbye to a forest on your back door that he's never been anywhere near didn't get your attention) and others would at least like some input from green groups to get something happening again so they can sell their product.
Good luck Wills. You're going to need it. We're poor, illiterate, unemployed and demand you get the state "back on track" but demand you don't take anything away from us in the meantime.
Hi jlm, sorry I am slow replying however I have been taking a break from brewing and AHB due to work and family pressures.
I will declare my affiliations... I am a forester in NW Tas and I am responsible for harvesting in this part of the state. I voted Liberal with preferences to PUP then independent, then Christian something or others then Labor then the Green candidates. These views are my own and do not necessarily represent my companies views
The forest debate has been raging in Tas. for the last 20 plus years and will never end as many of the combatants do not want the war to end.
The IGA ( Inter Govermental Agreement) is largely a construction by the State and Federal Labor Governments.
Industry and the environmentalists did not reach agreement...some industry and some green ENGO's sat down and hammered out an agreement which was then handed to state gov who then changed large parts of it and then said to industry and ENGO's ..."Toe the line and there is a bucket of money on offer from the Feds." The industry players who were to benefit then rode rough shod of the industry doubters to ensure they got their cut. The green ENGO's did the same with the more radical environmental groups.
The CFMEU had their noses in the trough to the tune of $80,000 per annum from the deal despite the fact that there a few union members in the timber industry and those that are seem to be mainly AWU, (remember of course that CFMEU backed Gillard and AWU did not)
Those players from Industry ( eg Ta Ann), green ENGO’s ( eg Wilderness Society Environment Tas etc), the Unions (CFMEU) and state Greens and Labor who are in the cue to get a hand out keep on pushing the line regardless of truth.
A couple of inconvenient truths
50% of Tassie forests are already reserved from harvesting
Every hectare of forest logged on state forest is regenerated back to as good as, or better, than what is was.
Forestry is the only carbon positive industry in Aus.
Australia is a net importer of timber, often from rain forests of Asia .Why shut down forestry in Aus that we have control over and is World’s best practice
Mainland Australia prop Tassie up with GST revenue...Can Tassie afford to close industries down?
Roughly 100,000 ha of the 374,000 ha of land listed for world heritage listing has been logged before and thus does not meet the criteria, however was nominated and accepted. This is the area the Liberal wants to delist (74,000 ha of it)
State Forest timber is covered by AFS and thus PEFC certification, the world’s largest certification body for timber, forestry etc. FSC is nice to have but is not the be all and end all.
Most customers will buy wood whether it has FSC certification or not.
Tasmania is a complete mess and we need to have a government that will create the environment that can assist us to work our way out of the black hole we are in. We cannot expect the rest of Australia to subsidise Tasmania. Tasmania currently has a handout mentality, a sense of unearned entitlement, this needs to change.
I voted for a change in direction and for a change in culture. For once the silent majority spoke up with a huge swing to Liberal. I hope Liberal unpicks the IGA no matter what pain this causes as it is not in the best interest of the state or the nation.
Sorry for the long rant
Cheers
Chris
