Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

Despite a very expensive green campaign, promoting the deeply flawed and dishonest so-called Tasmanian Forests Agreement, the people spoke and they spoke very loudly, especially those living in the relevant areas. They rejected the dishonest campaign and supported the policy on which we as a federal party went to the election on, namely, to rip up the Tasmanian Forests Agreement. What is more, the Tasmanian people have now delivered a similar result.

The reason is that we as a government here want to rebuild those communities that have been so badly damaged by this forests agreement. We do want to support the small sawmillers, the Tasmanian special species timber users, the farm enterprises and the small businesses, all of whom have relied on the forest sector, a sector which plays to Tasmania's natural advantages—plenty of rainfall, good soil and plenty of sunshine. That is what you need to grow trees. It is the only genuinely renewable industry that we have in this country and the Labor and Green parties sought to close it down. However, the people have overwhelmingly voted to give it a new future and that is what we intend to do.