Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I have the privilege of reading this speech written by Konan, a young Tasmanian, as part of the 2024 Raise Our Voice in parliament campaign.

My name is Konan, and I'm from the Franklin electorate in Tasmania. In the next 10 years, I want the absurd hypocrisy in my community and in the Tasmanian Government to change.

Politicians and citizens claim that they absolutely love living in Tasmania, amongst the vital ecosystems that help us thrive in countless different ways.

We are known to have unique native species and some of the most carbon dense forests on the planet, yet native forest logging is the HIGHEST EMITTING SECTOR in the Tasmanian economy.

To get a grasp on the scale of this issue, 40% of all native forest log volume in Australia comes from Tasmania, which is more than WA, NSW and Queensland combined. Some might argue that it provides jobs for Tasmanians, but figures from 2021 show that just under 1% of all Tasmanian jobs come from the logging industry.

It's crystal clear that cons from native forest logging overwhelmingly outweigh the positives. So let's end this hypocrisy, and end native forest logging.

Hear, hear, Konan. I couldn't agree more with you. Thanks for defending our native forests, thanks for your moral clarity and thanks for raising your voice for Tasmania's magnificent, carbon-dense native forests and all the amazing creatures in them.