John Watson (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to the Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation, Senator Abetz. Would the minister inform the Senate how the Howard government is supporting value-adding and downstream processing in the Tasmanian timber industry? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

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

I thank Senator Watson for his question, and I note his longstanding support for value-adding in the Tasmanian timber industry. Australia currently has an annual trade deficit in timber and timber products of some $2 billion. We export woodchips and we import paper; we export whole logs and we import sawn logs; we export sawn logs and we import furniture. In short, we need to value-add more of our timber product—and that is exactly what the Howard government is about, as shown by our $56 million package to assist the Tasmanian timber industry in more value-adding. That is also why the Howard government is so strongly supportive of establishing a world’s best practice pulp mill in Tasmania—a mill which will not cause the harvesting of a single extra native forest tree, a mill which will merely process woodchips already destined for export.

This proposed mill is currently being reviewed by the Resource Planning and Development Commission, and I do not intend to prejudge the outcome. However, I have been asked about alternatives. The Labor Party is still ’twixt and ’tween the Martin Ferguson view of the world and the Anthony Albanese view of the world, and we will see how that plays out in due course. But, of course, we do have a view from the Australian Greens. They oppose any new pulp mill, as they have opposed every value-adding—

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, on a point of order: the minister, when referring to the Greens, has to be truthful. His statement is not truthful. The Greens do not oppose a mill based on plantations and closed loop technology, where a community will allow it. He is wrong.

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order.

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

The Greens are opposed to the building of any new pulp mill in Tasmania, as they are opposed to any value-adding proposal. Apparently, they are happier to have polluting mills in Japan and the offshoring of jobs to Japan rather than having the jobs in Australia. Just listen to some of the outlandish claims they have made about the proposed pulp mill in their submission to the RPDC—cosigned, I might add, by Senator Milne. I thought we had gone to the extreme when we heard their diatribe about the Exclusive Brethren, but they have now descended to an even lower level of silliness. Just listen to some of these objections to the pulp mill: ‘The pulp mill will turn north-east Tasmania into a desert.’ What about Canada? What about Finland? What about Japan? All these countries have a number of pulp mills. Are they deserts? No, they are not. So why would north-east Tasmania all of a sudden be turned into a desert?

Then we are told: ‘It will melt the New Zealand ski fields and cause New Zealand to sue us.’ Where are the ice caps in Japan, Canada and Finland? Guess what, they are still all there—and, despite having pulp mills, two of those countries have hosted Winter Olympics. The only thing that might melt the ice caps in New Zealand are the westerly winds from Tasmania that blow the hot air from the Greens over there. The pulp mill is going to kill 50 people per year! It is going to cause an increase in interest rates, and inflation will rise! And get a load of this: it is even going to lead to an increase in violence, sex industry offences, child prostitution and police corruption! If you do not know why you oppose something, just grab everything, pull it all together and regurgitate it as an objection! (Time expired)

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, on a point of order: Gunns says there will be an increase in prostitution, so why should the Greens not agree with that analysis?

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. Resume your seat.

John Watson (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister provide further information in answer to the question?

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

Just for the record, the Greens assertion is: sex industry offences and child prostitution. Gunns said nothing of the sort in their submission. But these outlandish claims ran to three volumes. Three volumes is what the Greens, through Senator Milne, submitted to the RPDC. As the Greens are being more and more marginalised in this country, their outrageous claims become more and more extreme, more and more unsubstantiated, as they try to gather around themselves a degree of support. Tasmanians know that the only federal party genuinely in support of value-adding to the Tasmanian timber product is the Howard government’s.