Dr WOODRUFF – Minister, I want to dig into any communications, if there have been any, between you and the Minister for Tourism. It’s in relation to a $15 million major commitment to upgrades of three key reserves across the state, including the Dial Range, which is an icon of the north‑west. It is supposed to be about enhancing the visitor experience.
This is a much‑loved community area that is highly used for walking and trail bike riding. Forestry Tasmania has scheduled that two coupes in that area will be slated for logging – 45 hectares this year. That’s at the same time as the tourism announcement of enhancing the visitor experience and investing in new trails in the Dial Range.
That’s expected to boost visitor numbers and the local economy. The amount of harvest log volume to come out of those coupes is very tiny – 200 cubic metres of category‑one saw logs. This is chump change for Forestry Tasmania but would make a huge swathe into what is a highly loved and visited area that is slated for tourism investment.
I’m wondering whether the Tourism minister has been in contact with you about this area. What has your response been? Has there been any correspondence at all between your departments about this issue?
Mr ABETZ – To the best of my recollection, the Minister for Tourism has not corresponded with me in relation to this matter. My staff don’t recall that either, but I’m more than happy to check the record to see if something has slipped through that I didn’t notice. In relation to the Dial Range, I can say that that’s an operational matter for Sustainable Timber Tasmania. They’ve commenced planning and they’ve notified neighbouring landowners and registered stakeholders as part of the process.
No forest operations, including roading and harvesting, can occur until a Forest Practices Plan has been approved. Importantly, the plan will also outline how the forest will be regenerated and managed following harvesting activity, as sustainable native forestry operations across Tasmania provide the timber and wood products required to build our homes and help support a plastic‑free future. They also support many jobs in our regional areas.
Can I also say – and I’m not across all the detail with the Dial Range – that forestry and other activities can coexist. It doesn’t have to be black and white. There can be a coexistence, and managing our forests for the benefit of tourism, bike trails and wood products is all part and parcel of what we as a government want to see.
Dr WOODRUFF – I know that’s your government’s position, but it is directly at odds in this instance in a quite peculiar way, because the coupes that have been chosen, DLO11A and DLO11C, are right in the middle of the Dial Range. They’re highly visible from the walking and riding trails that are there. A couple of months ago, or less than that, over 120 people turned up on a Sunday to meet as a community for the first time. They were shocked at this proposal to go right into the middle of this very loved and highly accessed area, one that’s just been slated for a boost with financial investment.
Will you have a conversation with the Minister for Tourism, will you understand and learn about the values of the area, and will you consider talking to Forestry Tasmania about reordering their priorities in relation to these two particular coupes?
Mr ABETZ – Sustainable Timber Tasmania is who I might talk to about this, but at the end of the day they are a government business enterprise and they will be making their determinations in relation to the guidelines under which they have to operate, namely forest practices plans, et cetera. I would encourage anybody who’s concerned about this to reach out directly to Sustainable Timber Tasmania and have the dialogue to see what can be done to ensure that there can be a coexistence of matters tourism and matters forestry.
Dr WOODRUFF – Ash Bulgarelli will definitely be doing that. He’s already been in touch on behalf of the community.
