Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, actually it's better for biodiversity. The forest science deniers that sit at the bottom of the garden—or, should I say, at the bottom of the chamber—aren't prepared to listen to the FAO of the UN or the IPCC when they recommend sustainable forestry. They talk to us about the IPCC when it comes to climate change, but they don't recognise that native forestry is better for carbon storage than plantation forestry, which they claim to promote. The forest science deniers in the chamber really don't want to listen to reality. They are the ones pushing the Victorians to this circumstance.

We know the fires in Victoria have had an impact on the available timbers. It means an adjustment to the sector to make sure that the forest harvest can continue to be sustainable. I have to say that I am sick of the lies. I am sick of the lies that are made up by anti-forestry groups and that they continue to peddle in relation to this sector. It does, as Senator Chisholm said, make a valuable contribution to our community. It does make a valuable contribution to important sectors of our economy. It does provide us with the magnificent timbers that we see as we sit here in the chamber. It is a pity that from that nobody from the Labor Party from Victoria has come into the chamber to defend this motion.