2 June 2022
Labor already failing the forestry industry
On the first day of being the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Senator Murray Watt has broken a key election commitment to back the native timber industry.
The former Shadow Agriculture Minister promised that Labor would not shut down native forestry.
“It only took Minister Watt one day in the job to completely break that promise and betray the industry.”
Speaking at The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) National Forest Industries Election Forum on the 27th of April 2022 the then Shadow Minister for Agriculture Julie Collins told the audience that an Albanese Government would back native forestry and there would be no more lock ups.*
Today, we see in The Australian an interview with Minister Watt, revealing that the Albanese Government do not have a policy to support the native timber industry.
Senator Duniam said the Albanese Government were clearly abandoning timber workers and clearly already pandering to their Green senate colleagues.
“If the Albanese Government support our forest industries, they should be demanding their state counterparts reverse their destructive bans on native forestry and committing to no more shut downs.
“Now is the time for the Albanese Government to come clean and to honour their promises on native forestry – they owe that to timber workers and regional communities.
“If they don’t do this, they have sold out forest industries, communities, and workers across the country.”