Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of Queensland's timber workers and the regional communities which rely on this renewable industry. The 22nd of last month was National Forestry Day, and I want to highlight what forestry means to the Australian economy. It contributes almost $4 billion to the state's economy every year. It directly employs 11,600 workers and indirectly supports another 11,600 jobs. About 70 per cent of these jobs are in regional areas. Forestry in Queensland harvests about 2.7 million cubic metres of softwood from plantations, 280,000 cubic metres of native hardwood and 120,000 cubic metres of native cypress. Fewer than one in 1,000 native trees in Queensland are harvested every year. That's the reality which Green extremists will never acknowledge as they attempt to shut down one of the most environmentally sustainable industries in Australia.

The rising cost of materials is one of the factors driving our housing crisis and the collapse of building companies. Forestry provides a lot of the raw material we need for housing, so we should be working to ensure Australian forestry is secure and sustainable. The last thing we should do is import timber from countries which do not apply our high environmental standards.

Forestry in Australia needs more efficient supply chains, lower energy costs and an ongoing supply of skilled workers. Forestry in Australia needs resource security. That means continued access to native forests and more plantations. Don't believe the Greens and their fearmongering about old-growth forests. Under our laws, they can't be touched. One Nation is proud to support our forestry sector in Queensland and Australia, and in turn it also helps to keep costs down for homeowners and the building sector.