Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Rice, for sharing your opinions with us. But, as I said, Labor will always support a sustainable forestry industry. We do want sustainable forestry jobs. As a society, we do continue to rely on timber based products. The jobs that the forestry industry creates, particularly in regional Australia, including in Tasmania, are important to regional economies. But forests are also valuable, for their carbon storage and their native habitats, and we understand that we do need strong environmental protections that sit beneath our forestry industry. As I said, only last December Minister Plibersek announced our government's plan to reform Australia's environmental laws, because those laws are broken. Graeme Samuel found as much in his review that was commissioned by the former government. Those laws don't protect our environment, and they're frustrating for business to negotiate. That's why new environmental standards will apply to RFAs, as they will to many other aspects of business. (Time expired)