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Ingram Stands Up For Timber Communities In ParliamentThe Independent Member for Gippsland East, Craig Ingram, has voted against a Bill currently before state parliament that will establish new old growth forest reserves and additions to existing National Parks in East Gippsland. By Craig Ingram - 10th December 2009 - Back to News Speaking in Parliament this afternoon, Mr Ingram said the Bill will just shift the forest protests and fights to new battlegrounds and will create further uncertainty and conflict within the timber industry.
"The industry has been belted around for decades by government reviews, changes and interference and is again loosing high value areas and timber resource to more National Parks," Mr Ingram said.
"The areas to be included include Goolengook, Tarra Range and new additions to the Errinundra and Snowy National Parks.
"The resource from these new old growth reserves contains some of the most productive forests.
"The government plans to find the offsets of resource from areas set aside under the Regional Forest Agreements, including the informal reserve system and the special protection zones.
The area and timber that will need to be found from the special protection zones and other areas outside the new parks will be substantial and the industry will have to fight tooth and nail for every stick of timber from these reserves.
"It is clear to me that the government has just set up another battleground and moved the fight to new coups and new areas that the environment movement has already claimed.
"The lost resource and areas are some of the higher quality production and high rainfall areas
"If either side of politics thinks that these new reserves will end the decades of conflict and political debate in East Gippsland’s forests, they are very mistaken.
This Bill is just another excision from the available resource and another blow to the timber industry.
"At the last election, I made it clear of my opposition to further removal of available resource from those areas available to the timber industry and at least I have been consistent with that position, unlike the National Party who claims to support the timber industry and yet have supported this Bill," Mr Ingram concluded.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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