Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the same subject as we have just heard Senator Rice go on about. I would like to put on the record that the extension of the RFA in Tasmania is cause for great celebration for the Australian forestry sector and for regional communities. It fulfils an election promise of 2013 by our government but, more importantly, it actually protects the regions in which forestry occurs in Tasmania, and we are hoping that we will continue to roll these forward in other places around Australia that support strong forestry commitments.

In 2015 and 2016, forestry directly employed more than 64,000 people and contributed more than $23 billion to the national economy. We believe the RFAs provide a balanced approach between the economic, environmental and social outcomes for all Australians through the management of our native forest. It's also worth mentioning that 58 per cent, or 1,778,000 million hectares, of Australia's forests are now protected in reserves, including the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The RFAs are an adaptive management tool and we concede that in the rollover of the new Tasmanian RFAs there has been a series of improvements from lessons learnt over the 20 years the RFAs have been in place to date. But, most importantly, I would like to put on the record that no species in Australia has become extinct as a result of forestry. That is a direct quote from the Threatened Species Commissioner.

Question agreed to.