time for permanent fix for forests crisis

Public, industry, politics agree:

Time for permanent fix for forests crisis

Senator Bob Brown

With the collapse of overseas woodchip markets and the growth of plantation forests, results of a new national poll show unprecedented support for ending logging in Australian native forests.

Launching a new television advertisement calling for an end to native forest logging, Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said there had never been a more opportune time for the Commonwealth Government to step in and end conflict over forests forever.

The results of a national Galaxy research poll of 1,100 people show:

* 90% of Australians are in favour of protecting remaining high conservation value forests in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales in national parks.

* 77% agree that the Rudd Government should stop the logging of native forests, which contain large amounts of carbon that would be protected by ending forest clearance

* 72% are in favour of the Federal Government assisting logging contractors to take redundancies, retrain or move permanently to a plantation based industry

"The logging industry is now asking for help to assist workers and companies to shift from unsustainable native forest logging to plantation based forestry," said Senator Brown.

"The Commonwealth Government should step in.

"Having turned its back on putting a price on greenhouse pollution this is the easiest, simplest way for the Rudd Government to be able to say it has reduced Australia's greenhouse emissions.

"There is overwhelming public support for the creation of new national parks to protect our precious remaining forests.

"There is no future in native forest logging. Plantation timber is the preference of the global market, and now dinosaur companies like Gunns are in trouble, it is time to end Australian native forest logging forever."

A meeting of representatives from Australian environment groups convened by Senator Brown last week endorsed the idea that native forest logging should end and that Australia should utilise its existing plantation base for forest products.