Rebecca White has again shown her Labor party is in lockstep with the Liberals, supporting continued widespread logging and burning of native forests.
Labor governments in Victoria and Western Australia have now announced an end to native forest logging, with its mass destruction of wildlife and intact carbon stores. Many Tasmanians were hopeful we might also see a change of approach from Rebecca White’s Labor, but unfortunately that’s not the case.
Rebecca White has made it clear beyond a shadow of doubt that a vote for either the Liberal or Labor parties would continue the destruction of Tasmania’s unique and biodiverse forests. Despite a majority of the community being opposed to native forest logging and calling for rapid climate action, Labor and the Liberals are lockstep in support for this outdated industry.
Amidst global news with disturbing vision of the unfolding climate emergency, Labor’s re-committant to logging and burning Tasmania’s carbon-rich forests is tone deaf. Apparently Labor is also not worried about the direct impact logging is having on critically endangered species like the swift parrot, Tasmanian devil and masked owl.
With both Labor and the Liberals doggedly pursuing native forest destruction, it’s only the Greens in Parliament who stand for a better way forward. There are highly compatible skills in forestry workers waiting to be transferred into vast jobs in ecosystem restoration and supporting existing plantations.
In a climate and biodiversity crisis, the Greens will do everything we can to get the major parties to understand the urgency of looking after the natural world that sustains us.
