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

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Emergency Management (Senator McAllister) to a question without notice asked by Senator Hanson-Young today relating to native forest logging.

Labor was elected to government on a promise to end the exemption that regional forest agreements have from Australia's environment laws. This exemption means that logging operations in places like Tasmania and New South Wales are not required to comply with Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conversation Act. That act is weak and not fit for purpose, but it is telling, indeed, that forestry conducted under regional forest agreements doesn't even have to comply with that pathetically weak piece of legislation.

We know that the mining industry gets away scot-free in terms of regulation in this country, but not even the mining industry enjoys a straight-out exemption from Australia's environment laws that the native forest logging industry enjoys. Remember, native forest logging destroys our precious, beautiful, globally unique forest. It is driving species like the swift parrot—a beautiful little creature that is the world's only migratory parrot, the fastest parrot in the world, which migrates between Tasmania and the south-east of the north island of Australia—into extinction. It is a mass emitter of carbon, contributing massively to climate breakdown, which in turn contributes to ecological collapse. Our native forests are stolen forests, rich in Aboriginal cultural heritage.

There are more reasons to stop logging native forests than any of us could possibly wish for, and it will be a popular thing to do. Eight out of 10 Labor voters want to see an end to native forest logging on public land. Six out of 10 Liberal voters want to see an end to the logging of native forest on public land. Australians want to see an end to native forest logging, and they want to see an end to the exemption that currently exists, which means that logging doesn't have to comply with Australia's environment laws. Labor, having gone to the last election promising that they would appeal that exemption, have walked that back. What the Greens are saying to the Labor Party is this: we will pass your pathetic excuse for improving our environment laws in this country if you commit to taking meaningful action to end native forest logging in Australia. The meaningful action that we are asking you to accept is what you promised to do before the last election, which is to end the loophole that exempts forestry operations from Australia's environment laws.

The time to end native forest logging is now. The numbers are here in this parliament to end native forest logging if only the Labor party would get with the program and do what they promised they would do before the last election and repeal the exemption—the loophole—that allows forestry operations in our native forests to be exempt from Australia's environment laws. This was recommended by Professor Graeme Samuel and was accepted by Labor. Labor promised they would deliver this before the last election. Then, as they have done on so many other issues, they walked back and broke the promise that they made solemnly to the Australian people before the last election.

The time to end native forest logging is now. If we end native forest logging now, we might have a chance to save the swift parrot. We could stop destroying koala habitat. We could stop destroying a range of other threatened species' habitats in some of the most beautiful, carbon-rich forests in the world. The reason we won't do it is that the forest industry has its political hooks in the Australian Labor Party, just like the fossil fuel corporations have.

Question agreed to.