Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I want to make a couple of quick comments in respect of the government’s response to the Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport report Implementation, operation and administration of the legislation underpinning carbon sink forests. I welcome the fact that the government has made the report. I would note that, despite the predictions of doom and gloom and disaster that we have just heard from the Greens, enormous opportunities arise for Australian agriculture with the incorporation of carbon sink forests into their lands.

I still have some concerns about the processes that the government is putting in place through this measure and also through the CPRS. My concern is that the opportunities that should exist for farmers to integrate farm forestry into their whole-of-farm management plans, which is the way that this should be encouraged, is not being put into place in the way that it could be. The government should be showing greater intensity in the work that it is doing to try and get some of the accounting procedures modified, particularly those that give the opportunity for the recognition of carbon stored in wood products. This not the case under the current accounting rules, which severely limit the capacity of farmers in rural communities to take advantage of the opportunities that exist for the sequestration of carbon and the take-up of these opportunities. I am concerned that the growth in restrictions around the operation of some of these projects really does provide those limitations.

In respect of Senator Milne’s comments, while I do agree with some of the prudential measures that are in place governing managed investment schemes, the collapse of two companies does not mean the demise of the whole process. There are companies that are still quite successfully operating managed investment schemes and providing opportunities for farmers and the supply of timber products into the wood supply. We all know that the Greens have the view that you should close down all forestry in Australia, and the way they misuse terminology and definitions in this debate is quite deceptive at times. I would urge people to take real caution when they listen to some of the hysterical contributions that are being made in this debate. In particular, people should listen very carefully to some of the terminology that is being used.

I welcome the fact that the government has made a response to the committee report, but there remain some concerns, as I have indicated. The government needs to make sure that the real opportunities that exist for rural Australia to participate properly in forestry are dealt with as part of both this process and the development of the CPRS moving forward.

Question agreed to.