Today’s revelation that Tasmania’s government continues to push for more native forest logging by expanding logging areas into forests that were promised protection ten years ago is proof that taxpayers are consistently robbed of their public commons at their own expense.

“Tasmania’s extreme right members of parliament who want to continue to flatten the island’s unique forests are pulling their logging agency into logging forests they have previously said they would not touch. The Tasmanian Greens have revealed government documents today that prove Forestry Tasmania is assisting the Liberal government by “defining the five most suitable lots for possible conversion to permanent timber production zone land,” said Jenny Weber, Bob Brown Foundation’s Campaigns Manager.

“In the past ten years, our planet has reached global heating tipping points and logging in Tasmania has exacerbated bushfires while sending species closer to extinction. The ongoing destruction of the climate and forests and killing of wildlife has all been at the taxpayers’ expense. Now, our government is continuing to waste money on government agencies spending public money on investigating more areas of precious forests for logging. It is time for Tasmania to end all native forest logging and provide secure protection to the forests across our island,” said Jenny Weber.

Today’s Right to Information released by The Tasmanian Greens reminds us that the Act requires that conversion or exchange of Future Potential Production Forest (FPPF) to Permanent Timber Production Zone land must be tabled, and accepted, in both houses of the Tasmanian Parliament. The Act establishes two mechanisms for this to occur: exchange or conversion. However, before either of these can take place, a detailed assessment of FPPF needs to be done by the Tasmanian Government in 2014, through the Forestry (Rebuilding the Forest Industry) Act 2014 (RFI Act).

“There is no need to waste our precious money or forests on this assessment. The Future Potential Production Forests, and all native forests across Tasmania, have globally significant values in this time of a climate and extinction crises and must be left standing,” said Jenny Weber.