Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Heffernan for his question. What has characterised the Howard government’s policies is balance—balanced, considered policies which deliver sensible and practical outcomes. For example, as a result of the Howard government’s balanced policies over the past 10 years, there are now some extra 10 million hectares of forest reserves in this country. In Tasmania, as a result of the Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement, over one million hectares of old-growth forest is protected forever. That is 45 per cent of Tasmania’s forests and 42 per cent of Tasmania’s landmass. The UN benchmark is only 10 per cent. At the same time we have supported jobs in the legitimate and sustainable harvesting of our forests to provide an essential and environmentally friendly resource—namely, timber. It is a resource that does not emit carbon dioxide when it is manufactured but which actually sucks it in and stores it. Yes, old-growth forests do store carbon, but eventually they do become saturated and can take in no more. But the products forests provide store the carbon dioxide even after the trees are harvested and then the forests are replanted and the regrowth sucks in—