Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

I think all Tasmanians are concerned at the situation at the Auspine mill in Scottsdale in the seat of Bass. It is noteworthy that the newly endorsed Labor candidate has not been making any comments about that. The member for Bass, Michael Ferguson, is in fact leading a task force to assist the community. The Auspine situation is one wholly and solely of the state government’s making. The state government owns 50 per cent of the resource in a partnership with another company that operates under the name of Rayonier, if I recall correctly, and they were in negotiations with Auspine for the supply of timber. Those commercial negotiations were undertaken and the state government through Forestry Tasmania et cetera have determined to allocate the timbers to be harvested to another company, Forest Enterprises Australia.

If the honourable senator wants to pursue this, and I think there are questions that need to be asked and matters that need to be pursued in this area, I suggest his Greens colleagues in the state parliament of Tasmania follow the excellent example of Mr Peter Gutwein, Liberal candidate for Bass in the state parliament, who has been doing a fantastic job in prosecuting this issue and seeking to keep the state Labor government of Mr Paul Lennon accountable on this very important and sensitive issue.